Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Watches in 2014

Flash Flood Watch 5, NWS Birmingham, AL

October 13, 201425 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood watch at Oct 13, 2014, 4:30 AM CDT for 25 counties in Alabama. It took effect at Oct 13, 2014, 7:00 PM CDT. It was in force for 10 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 13, 2014, 4:30 AM CDT (09:30 UTC)
In effect from
Oct 13, 2014, 7:00 PM CDT
Expired
Oct 14, 2014, 5:14 AM CDT
In force
10 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Flood severity
None
All 25 counties

Autauga County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Blount County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Marion County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:30 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 00:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 34 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2014-10-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 118 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2014-10-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 76 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
118 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1701 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
148 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood watch went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Birmingham, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood watch went out at Oct 13, 12:50 AM CDT, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 13, 12:50 AM CDT, 3 hours 40 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 12, 1:40 PM CDT, 14 hours 50 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
140 PM CDT SUN OCT 12 2014

ALZ011>015-017>050-131845-
MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WINSTON-WALKER-BLOUNT-ETOWAH-CALHOUN-CHEROKEE-
CLEBURNE-PICKENS-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-ST. CLAIR-TALLADEGA-
CLAY-RANDOLPH-SUMTER-GREENE-HALE-PERRY-BIBB-CHILTON-COOSA-TALLAPOOSA-
CHAMBERS-MARENGO-DALLAS-AUTAUGA-LOWNDES-ELMORE-MONTGOMERY-MACON-
BULLOCK-LEE-RUSSELL-PIKE-BARBOUR-
140 PM CDT SUN OCT 12 2014

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.

CONFIDENCE CONTINUES TO INCREASE IN THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE
WEATHER FOR LATE MONDAY AND TUESDAY.

AT THIS TIME...THERE APPEARS TO BE TWO DISTINCT THREATS.
FIRST...DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS ON
MONDAY...ISOLATED DISCRETE SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE FAR WEST. SECOND...A SQUALL LINE
CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE AND EMBEDDED
TORNADOES WILL MOVE ACROSS THE WEST AFTER MIDNIGHT MONDAY
NIGHT...AND ACROSS THE EAST TUESDAY MORNING. THERE MAY ALSO BE THE
POTENTIAL FOR SUPERCELLS TO REDEVELOP IN THE FAR SOUTHEAST TUESDAY
AFTERNOON...BUT CONFIDENCE IS LOWER IN THIS PORTION OF THE THREAT.

ALTHOUGH SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS ALL OF CENTRAL
ALABAMA...THE GREATEST THREAT WILL BE WEST OF A LINE FROM SELMA TO
BIRMINGHAM. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS
OF 60 MPH OR GREATER. THERE IS A SLIGHTLY LOWER THREAT OF ISOLATED
TORNADOES AND LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE
NEEDED FROM LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON INTO TUESDAY MORNING.

32/02

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 13, 12:23 AM CDT, 4 hours 7 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 13, 4:19 AM CDTWind AdvisoryBMXAutauga, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Calhoun and 33 more20 hr
Oct 13, 1:18 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementBMXLowndes42 min
Oct 13, 1:32 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementBMXMarengo43 min
Oct 13, 1:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo52 min
Oct 13, 1:49 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementBMXBullock41 min
Oct 13, 1:56 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementBMXAutauga, Chilton, Coosa49 min
Oct 13, 2:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Chilton, Coosa, Elmore67 min
Oct 13, 2:13 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementBMXPerry47 min
Oct 13, 2:25 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementBMXHale50 min
Oct 13, 2:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb, Perry42 min
Oct 13, 2:44 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementBMXGreene, Sumter46 min
Oct 13, 3:00 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementBMXJefferson, Shelby45 min
Oct 13, 3:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb, Jefferson, Shelby, Talladega, Tuscaloosa58 min
Oct 13, 3:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson, Walker37 min
Oct 13, 3:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount, Jefferson, St. Clair58 min
Oct 13, 4:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWinston54 min
Oct 13, 4:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion39 min
Oct 13, 4:43 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarion20 min
Oct 13, 6:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Pickens56 min
Oct 13, 6:51 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLamar, Marion16 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Watches in Alabama, 2014Every flash flood watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.