Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2015

Flash Flood Warning 21, NWS Birmingham, AL

December 25, 20154 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at Dec 25, 2015, 1:15 AM CST for 4 counties in Alabama. It was in force for 6 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
Dec 25, 2015, 1:15 AM CST (07:15 UTC)
Expired
Dec 25, 2015, 7:15 AM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

Counties Autauga County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Montgomery County, AL

The radar

The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:17 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, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 107 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 2015-12-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 349 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 2015-12-25The 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
349 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-25 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
635 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
208 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

055 
WGUS54 KBMX 250715
FFWBMX
ALC001-047-085-101-251315-
/O.NEW.KBMX.FF.W.0021.151225T0715Z-151225T1315Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
115 AM CST FRI DEC 25 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  LOWNDES COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA...
  AUTAUGA COUNTY IN CENTRAL ALABAMA...
  MONTGOMERY COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA...
  DALLAS COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 715 AM CST FRIDAY
    
* AT 112 AM CST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS
  PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN ACROSS THE WARNED AREA. VARIED AMOUNTS OF
  RAIN HAVE FALLEN ACROSS THE BANDS OF STORMS FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES
  OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS. ADDITIONAL BANDS ARE EXPECTED AND FLASH
  FLOODING IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN SHORTLY OR WILL CONTINUE.

* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...
  MONTGOMERY...PRATTVILLE...SELMA...VALLEY GRANDE...FORT DEPOSIT...
  MOSSES...HAYNEVILLE...MEADVILLE...SELMONT-WEST SELMONT...PIKE
  ROAD...AUTAUGAVILLE...WHITE HALL...GORDONVILLE...ORRVILLE...
  BILLINGSLEY...LOWNDESBORO...BENTON...LAGOON PARK...LOWNDES COUNTY
  AIRPORT AND DUBLIN.

THIS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING HIGHWAYS...
 INTERSTATE 65 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 142 AND 173...AND BETWEEN MILE
MARKERS 186 AND 193.
 INTERSTATE 85 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 1 AND 16.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODING.

TURN AROUND...DONT DROWN WHEN ENCOUNTERING FLOODED ROADS. MOST FLOOD
DEATHS OCCUR IN VEHICLES.

&&

LAT...LON 3205 8686 3205 8718 3225 8742 3266 8698
      3271 8671 3271 8642 3241 8641 3241 8631
      3250 8625 3243 8619 3242 8603 3228 8593
      3225 8600 3197 8603 3196 8630 3205 8631
      3205 8641 3204 8640 3196 8641 3196 8686

$$

08

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 24, 8:03 PM CSTSpecial Weather StatementBMXSumter27 min
Dec 24, 8:31 PM CSTSpecial Weather StatementBMXGreene, Sumter29 min
Dec 24, 9:57 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXAutauga, Elmore, Lowndes, Montgomery3 hr
Dec 25, 12:56 AM CSTAreal Flood WarningBMXBarbour, Bullock, Macon, Pike, Russell12 hr
Dec 25, 1:08 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXChambers, Chilton, Coosa, Elmore, Lee, Tallapoosa6 hr
Dec 25, 4:24 AM CSTFlash Flood WatchBMXBibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton and 17 more17 hr
Dec 25, 7:14 AM CSTAreal Flood WarningBMXChambers, Elmore, Lee, Montgomery, Tallapoosa2 hr
Dec 25, 7:21 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXChilton, Shelby, Talladega3 hr
Dec 25, 7:40 AM CSTSpecial Weather StatementBMXMarion50 min
Dec 25, 7:48 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Marion, Winston42 min
Dec 25, 8:35 AM CSTSpecial Weather StatementBMXWinston40 min
Dec 25, 9:17 AM CSTAreal Flood AdvisoryBMXLamar, Marion, Winston3 hr
Dec 25, 9:40 AM CSTAreal Flood AdvisoryBMXWinston3 hr
Dec 25, 9:42 AM CSTRiver Flood WarningBMXAutauga, Dallas, Elmore, Lowndes, Montgomery11 days
Dec 25, 9:42 AM CSTRiver Flood WarningBMXAutauga, Dallas, Lowndes8 days
Dec 25, 9:42 AM CSTRiver Flood WarningBMXDallas9 days
Dec 25, 10:30 AM CSTFlash Flood Warning EmergencyBMXMarion, Winston9 hr
Dec 25, 11:51 AM CSTAreal Flood AdvisoryBMXBlount3 hr
Dec 25, 12:36 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXBlount3 hr
Dec 25, 12:43 PM CSTAreal Flood AdvisoryBMXFayette, Lamar, Marion, Walker3 hr
Dec 25, 2:28 PM CSTSpecial Weather StatementBMXCherokee, Etowah32 min
Dec 25, 2:50 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXFayette, Lamar, Walker5 hr
Dec 25, 3:04 PM CSTAreal Flood AdvisoryBMXBlount, Cherokee, Etowah, Jefferson, St. Clair, Walker3 hr
Dec 25, 3:13 PM CSTSpecial Weather StatementBMXFayette47 min
Dec 25, 3:31 PM CSTSpecial Weather StatementBMXPerry44 min
Dec 25, 3:35 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa25 min
Dec 25, 3:49 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXBlount8 hr
Dec 25, 4:24 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson36 min
Dec 25, 4:28 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXBlount, Jefferson, St. Clair, Walker3 hr
Dec 25, 4:55 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson50 min
Dec 25, 5:25 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXBibb, Chilton21 min
Dec 25, 5:44 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXFayette, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Walker3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2015Every flash flood warning in 2015

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.