Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2013

Flash Flood Warning 9, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 28, 2013Calhoun County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Apr 28, 2013, 3:38 PM CDT for Calhoun County, Alabama. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Apr 28, 2013, 3:38 PM CDT (20:38 UTC)
Expired: Apr 28, 2013, 6:30 PM CDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Calhoun County, AL

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 121 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:38 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 122 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: 618 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 593 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 130 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 73 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

317 
WGUS54 KBMX 282038
FFWBMX
ALC015-282330-
/O.NEW.KBMX.FF.W.0009.130428T2038Z-130428T2330Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
338 PM CDT SUN APR 28 2013

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CALHOUN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 630 PM CDT

* AT 335 PM CDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS      
  WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE WARNED AREA.

* RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING TO
  OCCUR. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...
  ANNISTON...COBB TOWN...FORT MCCLELLAN...JACKSONVILLE...OXFORD...   
  PIEDMONT...SAKS...WEST END...COBB TOWN...ALEXANDRIA...BLUE         
  MOUNTAIN...BYNUM...HOBSON CITY...JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY...  
  OXFORD LAKE AND WEAVER.

REPORTS OF FLOODING WITHIN THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE HAVE BEEN 
REPORTED BY THE PUBLIC DUE TO HEAVY RAINFALL ALREADY...AND 
ADDITIONAL FLOODING IS EXPECTED WITH HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUING OVER 
THE NEXT THREE HOURS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION. RAINFALL FROM PERSISTENT RAINBANDS
WILL PRODUCE FLOODING IN LOW LYING AREAS AND ALONG STREETS. MANY 
ROADS MAY BECOME IMPASSIBLE DUE TO HIGH WATER AND DRIVING IS NOT 
RECOMMENDED DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.

ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE 
WARNED AREA OVER THE NEXT THREE HOURS.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...
COUNTRY ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS...STREAMS AND
OTHER LOW LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLOODING.

&&

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...
CALL 1-800-856-0758 OR TWEET YOUR REPORT USING HASHTAG ALWX

LAT...LON 3389 8554 3387 8564 3385 8564 3384 8559
      3381 8559 3377 8564 3368 8564 3358 8580
      3360 8602 3367 8605 3391 8592 3391 8590
      3394 8590 3396 8584 3394 8574 3397 8574
      3397 8570 3395 8553

$$

56

1 follow-up statement

449 
WGUS74 KBMX 282228
FFSBMX

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
528 PM CDT SUN APR 28 2013

ALC015-282330-
/O.CON.KBMX.FF.W.0009.000000T0000Z-130428T2330Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
CALHOUN AL-
528 PM CDT SUN APR 28 2013

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR CALHOUN COUNTY UNTIL 630
PM CDT...

AT 523 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS MUCH OF CALHOUN 
COUNTY...WITH MORE RAINFALL EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT HOUR. FLOODING 
WILL CONTINUE TO BE POSSIBLE WITH THE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL.

RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING TO
OCCUR. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLASH FLOODING INCLUDE...
ANNISTON...COBB TOWN...FORT MCCLELLAN...JACKSONVILLE...OXFORD...
PIEDMONT...SAKS...WEST END-COBB TOWN...ALEXANDRIA...BLUE MOUNTAIN...
BYNUM...HOBSON CITY...JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY...OXFORD LAKE AND
WEAVER.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION. RAINFALL FROM PERSISTENT RAINBANDS
WILL PRODUCE FLOODING IN LOW LYING AREAS AND ALONG STREETS. MANY
ROADS WILL BE CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER AND DRIVING IS NOT RECOMMENDED
DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.

ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 1.5 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE 
WARNED AREA OVER THE NEXT HOUR.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS
AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY ROADS
AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS...STREAMS AND OTHER LOW LYING
AREAS ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO FLOODING.

&&

LAT...LON 3389 8554 3387 8564 3385 8564 3384 8559
      3381 8559 3377 8564 3368 8564 3358 8580
      3360 8602 3367 8605 3391 8592 3391 8590
      3394 8590 3396 8584 3394 8574 3397 8574
      3397 8570 3395 8553

$$

56

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 27, 7:49 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Blount	41 min
Apr 27, 8:41 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Blount	34 min
Apr 27, 9:00 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Etowah	60 min
Apr 28, 12:41 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Marion	64 min
Apr 28, 1:18 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Lamar	57 min
Apr 28, 1:48 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Marion	57 min
Apr 28, 2:19 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Winston	56 min
Apr 28, 2:47 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Winston	43 min
Apr 28, 5:34 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Blount	41 min
Apr 28, 10:31 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Lamar	29 min
Apr 28, 12:13 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Lamar	2 hr
Apr 28, 12:53 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Coosa	37 min
Apr 28, 1:33 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Blount	27 min
Apr 28, 1:38 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Pickens, Tuscaloosa	52 min
Apr 28, 2:31 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Blount, Cherokee, Etowah	3 hr
Apr 28, 2:56 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Calhoun	3 hr
Apr 28, 4:12 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Shelby	63 min
Apr 28, 4:15 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Shelby, Talladega	3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2013 Every flash flood warning in 2013

Sources

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