Alert archive / Alabama / Flash Flood Warnings in 2017

Flash Flood Warning 7, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 20, 2017Cherokee County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this flash flood warning at May 20, 2017, 7:18 PM CDT for Cherokee County, Alabama. It was in force for 3 hr. 2 reports 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: May 20, 2017, 7:18 PM CDT (00:18 UTC)
Expired: May 20, 2017, 10:15 PM CDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Cherokee County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 88 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:20 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
May 20, 7:51 PM CDT	FLASH FLOOD	Cedar Bluff, AL	LAWRENCE STREET IN CEDAR BLUFF HAS OVER TWO FEET OF WATER OVER IT. IT HAS BEEN BARRICADED AND CLOSED.
May 20, 8:11 PM CDT	FLASH FLOOD	1 Ene Cedar Bluff, AL	CR 535 AT CR 75 IS FLOODED AND IMPASSABLE. THE ROAD HAS AT LEAST A FOOT OF WATER OVER IT AND HAS BEEN BARRICADED AND CLOSED.

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

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 144 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: 86 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -265 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1583 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 101 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 91 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

844 
WGUS54 KBMX 210018
FFWBMX
ALC019-210315-
/O.NEW.KBMX.FF.W.0007.170521T0018Z-170521T0315Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service Birmingham AL
718 PM CDT SAT MAY 20 2017

The National Weather Service in Birmingham has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for...
  Cherokee County in northeastern Alabama...

* Until 1015 PM CDT

* At 717 PM CDT, emergency management reported thunderstorms
  producing heavy rain across the warned area. Up to two inches of 
  rain have already fallen in a short period of time and an 
  additionmal inch or so can be expected. Flash flooding is expected 
  to begin shortly.

* Some locations that will experience flooding include...
  Centre, Cedar Bluff, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Forney,
  Centre Municipal Airport, Leesburg, Sand Rock, Gaylesville,
  Tennala, Cherokee Rock Village, Pleasant Gap, Cornwall Furnace
  Park, Blanche, Little River Falls, Slackland, Weiss Lake, Moshat,
  Ball Flat, Coloma and Weiss Dam.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles.

Keep children away from storm drains, culverts, creeks and streams.
Water levels can rise rapidly and sweep children away.

&&

LAT...LON 3396 8540 3396 8542 3397 8574 3410 8580
      3412 8579 3413 8580 3411 8583 3415 8584
      3424 8584 3424 8581 3426 8581 3426 8577
      3436 8566 3437 8563 3440 8563 3444 8558
      3449 8557 3453 8552

$$

75

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 20, 7:11 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Elmore	34 min
May 20, 7:31 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Coosa, Tallapoosa	29 min
May 20, 7:45 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Chilton, Jefferson, Shelby, Talladega	3 hr
May 20, 7:51 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Autauga, Dallas, Elmore, Lowndes, Montgomery	3 hr
May 20, 8:24 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Calhoun, Etowah, St. Clair, Talladega	3 hr
May 20, 8:26 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Cleburne	64 min
May 20, 8:29 PM CDT	River Flood Warning	BMX	Jefferson	14 hr
May 20, 9:00 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Elmore, Montgomery	3 hr
May 20, 9:21 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Lowndes	24 min
May 20, 9:45 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Pike	60 min
May 20, 10:17 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Bullock	58 min
May 20, 10:23 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Cherokee	3 hr
May 20, 10:35 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Autauga, Dallas, Elmore, Lowndes, Montgomery	6 hr
May 20, 11:04 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Macon	41 min
May 20, 11:13 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Lee	32 min
May 20, 11:40 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Macon, Tallapoosa	3 hr
May 20, 11:44 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Lee, Russell	61 min
May 21, 12:01 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Macon	3 hr
May 21, 12:03 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Barbour	42 min
May 21, 12:30 AM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Lee	3 hr
May 21, 12:33 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Chambers, Lee	57 min
May 21, 1:14 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Chambers	46 min
May 21, 1:40 AM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Randolph	3 hr
May 21, 4:25 AM CDT	Areal Flood Warning	BMX	Lowndes, Montgomery	3 hr
May 21, 6:55 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	BMX	Montgomery	48 hr
May 21, 4:05 PM CDT	Flash Flood Watch	BMX	Autauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Chambers, Chilton and 17 more	47 hr
May 21, 6:17 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Lamar, Marion	43 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Alabama, 2017 Every flash flood warning in 2017

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.