Alert archive / Alabama / Areal Flood Advisories in 2021

Areal Flood Advisory 20, NWS Mobile, AL

May 3, 2021Conecuh County, Covington County, Crenshaw County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this areal flood advisory at May 3, 2021, 3:22 PM CDT for Conecuh County, Covington County, Crenshaw County, Alabama. It was in force for 113 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 3, 2021, 3:22 PM CDT (20:22 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 2021, 5:15 PM CDT
In force
113 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Conecuh County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL

The radar

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 107 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:23 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, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 191 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 12:00Z on 2021-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1106 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 12:00Z on 2021-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 313 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1106 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
552 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
313 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
363 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.7
Supercell composite
11.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

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

NWS Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this areal flood advisory went out at May 3, 1:07 PM CDT, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 3, 1:07 PM CDT, 2 hours 15 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Mobile AL
107 PM CDT Mon May 3 2021

.NEAR TERM /Now Through Tuesday/...A shortwave trof over the
Ohio and Tennessee River valleys weakens while ejecting off into
the western Atlantic tonight. A large upper trof located from the
northern Plains to the 4 Corners region meanwhile advances
eastward, and becomes oriented along the Mississippi River valley
by late Tuesday afternoon. This upper trof is actually a phased
southern and northern stream system, and a surface low associated
with the northern stream slowly progresses from Wisconsin to
across the Great Lakes while a surface low associated with the
southern stream moves along the Red River valley then across the
mid Mississippi River valley Tuesday afternoon. These two surface
lows will bring a trailing cold front to a northern Louisiana to
western Tennessee line by late Tuesday afternoon. The forecast
area remains in a rather moist southerly deep layer flow with
precipitable water values increasing from 1.5-1.7 today to 1.5-2.0
inches by Tuesday afternoon. MLCAPE values this afternoon range
from 1500-3000 J/kg with mid level lapse rates around 6.5 C/km,
and model soundings also show abundant dry mid level air to
enhance downdraft production. With the modest shortwaves moving
across the area and daytime heating, this environment will support
likely pops north of a MOB-EGI line this afternoon with coverage
gradually diminishing tonight.  0-6 km bulk shear will be
generally low around 25 knots but higher values of 30-35 knots are
possible. The fairly high instability values and limited shear
values suggest slow moving storms with precipitation loading/mid
level dry air entrainment as the main mechanisms leading to
strong, potentially severe storms with damaging wind gusts and
large hail. Locally heavy rainfall is also possible. A severe
thunderstorm watch is in effect for interior areas until 8 pm. The
Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has a slight risk over interior
areas with a marginal risk over most of the remainder through
tonight.

For Tuesday, a series of vigorous shortwaves will advance eastward
across the forecast area during the day while the upper trof
advances toward the region.  Bulk shear values will be low Tuesday
morning, 20-25 knots, but then increase to 35-45 knots in the
afternoon with the highest values over the northwestern portion of
the area.  MLCAPE values of 1500-3000 J/kg are expected, and mid
level lapse rates look a bit steeper when compared to today and
around 7C/km.  It is not clear at this time as to how convection
will evolve in response to the pattern/environment, with scenarios
in Convection Allowing Models (CAMS) ranging from a cold pool driven
line of convection advancing into the forecast area to near the I-65
corridor Tuesday afternoon or a line of convection that develops
further to the west and doesn't move into the area until the
evening. The cold pool driven line of convection is certainly a
possible scenario given that model soundings show abundant dry
air above 650 mb to contribute to downdraft production. Larger
scale guidance such as the GFS and ECMWF strike a compromise with
a line of convection advancing into the northwesternmost portion
of the area late Tuesday afternoon. SPC has an enhanced risk over
southeast Mississippi and interior southwest Alabama with a slight
risk over much of the remainder of the area. Damaging winds,
large hail, and a few tornadoes are possible.  Lows tonight will
be mild and mostly in the lower 70s, and highs on Tuesday range
from the lower 80s near the coast to the mid to upper 80s further
inland. A high risk of rip currents continues through the period.
/29

&&

.AVIATION...
18Z issuance...MVFR ceilings prevail over the area through the
period, with localized IFR conditions possible in showers and
storms moving across the area during the afternoon and evening.
Southerly winds around 15 knots decrease to around 10 knots
tonight then increase back to around 15 knots Tuesday morning.
/29

&&

.MOB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AL...High Rip Current Risk through Friday morning for ALZ265-266.

FL...High Rip Current Risk through Friday morning for FLZ202-204-206.

MS...None.
GM...None.
&&

This product is also available on the web at:
http://weather.gov/mob

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 3, 1:50 PM CDT, 1 hour 32 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 3, 12:19 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningMOB56 min
May 3, 1:50 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementMOBEscambia40 min
May 3, 2:24 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementMOBButler, Conecuh66 min
May 3, 2:56 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBButler, Conecuh, Covington49 min
May 3, 1:50 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementMOBCovington25 min
May 3, 1:57 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBCovington, Crenshaw48 min
May 3, 1:45 AM CDTSpecial Weather StatementMOBGreene45 min

Nearby

Areal Flood Advisories in Alabama, 2021Every areal flood advisory in 2021

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.