Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2014

Flash Flood Warning 9, NWS Birmingham, AL

July 14, 2014Etowah County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Jul 14, 2014, 10:00 PM CDT for Etowah 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: Jul 14, 2014, 10:00 PM CDT (03:00 UTC)
Expired: Jul 15, 2014, 1:00 AM CDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Etowah County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:02 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
Jul 15, 12:25 AM CDT	FLASH FLOOD	Gadsden, AL	A FEW STREETS IN GADSDEN ARE FLOODED AND IMPASSABLE. THE STREET DEPARTMENT HAS PUT UP BARRICADES.

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, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 116 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: 162 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -45 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1802 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 34 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 28 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

393 
WGUS54 KBMX 150300
FFWBMX
ALC055-150600-
/O.NEW.KBMX.FF.W.0009.140715T0300Z-140715T0600Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1000 PM CDT MON JUL 14 2014

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  ETOWAH COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 100 AM CDT

* AT 957 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDICATED 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...
  GADSDEN...HOKES BLUFF...RAINBOW CITY...ANDERSON...ATTALLA...
  BALLPLAY...GADSDEN MALL...GLENCOE...NOCCALULA FALLS...REECE CITY...
  SARDIS CITY AND TABOR ROAD.


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.

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 OR TWEET YOUR REPORT USING HASHTAG ALWX

LAT...LON 3411 8584 3413 8581 3399 8574 3394 8574
      3395 8588 3391 8590 3392 8595 3386 8600
      3384 8605 3387 8607 3387 8610 3390 8611
      3390 8614 3399 8620 3397 8626 3415 8624
      3421 8610 3421 8585

$$

17/KLAWS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 14, 9:00 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Cherokee, Etowah	3 hr
Jul 15, 12:44 AM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Etowah, St. Clair	3 hr
Jul 15, 12:57 AM CDT	Areal Flood Warning	BMX	Etowah, St. Clair	3 hr
Jul 15, 11:47 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Barbour, Pike	28 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2014 Every flash flood warning in 2014

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.