Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2012

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 8, 2012Lamar County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Mar 8, 2012, 7:45 PM CST for Lamar County, Alabama. It was in force for 3 hr. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Mar 8, 2012, 7:45 PM CST (01:45 UTC)
Expired: Mar 8, 2012, 10:30 PM CST
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Lamar County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 24 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:48 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Mar 8, 8:30 PM CST	FLASH FLOOD	Vernon, AL	HIGHWAY 18 IN VERNON COVERED BY WATER AND CLOSED.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 141 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 264 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1136 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 213 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

884 
WGUS54 KBMX 090145
FFWBMX
ALC075-090430-
/O.NEW.KBMX.FF.W.0003.120309T0145Z-120309T0430Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
745 PM CST THU MAR 8 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  LAMAR COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 1030 PM CST

* AT 741 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDICATED SLOW MOVING   
THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE WARNED AREA. RADAR 
ESTIMATES SHOW ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAINFALL HAS OCCURRED OVER THE 
PAST HOUR ACROSS NORTH LAMAR COUNTY. THIS AREA OF HEAVY RAIN WILL 
SHIFT SOUTHWARD OVER THE NEXT HOUR COVERING ALL OF LAMAR COUNTY. AN 
ADDITIONAL ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE. 

* RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING TO
  OCCUR. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...
  MILLPORT...SULLIGENT...VERNON...BEAVERTON...BEDFORD...BLOOMING
  GROVE...CREWS...DETROIT...KENNEDY AND LAMAR COUNTY AIRPORT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE 
DANGERS OF FLOODING. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT QUICKLY. DO 
NOT ENTER THE WATER. TURN AROUND AND MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO 
ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN 
WATER BEGINS RISING.

&&

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...
CALL 1-800-856-0758.

LAT...LON 3405 8799 3354 8795 3354 8827 3405 8820

$$

14

The office that day

Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 8, 6:08 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Marion, Winston	52 min
Mar 8, 6:44 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Fayette, Lamar	46 min
Mar 8, 6:49 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lamar	41 min
Mar 8, 7:23 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Fayette, Lamar	29 min
Mar 9, 9:50 AM CST	River Flood Warning	BMX	Greene, Hale, Marengo, Pickens, Sumter	20 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2012 Every flash flood warning in 2012

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.