Flash Flood, Clay
- When
- September 22, 2:00 AM CST to 4:30 AM CST
- Where
- Clay County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 33.269, -85.861 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flooding in Alabama, September 22, 2002
Very heavy rain fell across central Alabama during the early morning hours. The heaviest rain was measured generally from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham to Wedowee.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 8 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $6.2 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 8
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS BMX wrote it up.
Very heavy rain fell across central Alabama during the early morning hours. The heaviest rain was measured generally from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham to Wedowee. Radar-estimated rainfall amounts averaged from 3 to 5 inches with many localized areas over 7 inches in only a few hours. The hardest hit area was the Birmingham Metropolitan area where the damage stretched from Bessemer to Pelham to Mountain Brook to Vestavia Hills. The following events were reported: numerous high water rescues were performed by area fire departments, one junior high school sustained major damage, one home was totally destroyed, 100 homes suffered varying degrees of damage, 22 apartments were flooded, one bowling alley sustained major damage, at least 20 businesses were damaged, a few bridges were washed out, a few culvert pipes were washed away, trees and power lines fell down due to the saturated ground, numerous roads were temporarily closed and impassable, and over 200 automobiles suffered significant damage in Vestavia Hills. No injuries were reported. Some 24 hour rainfall totals in inches (most of which fell in two to four hours); Logan Martin Dam 10.96 Vincent 8.19 Mitchell Dam 7.64 Wilsonville 7.75 Alabaster 5.60 Childersburg 5.05 Palmerdale 5.03 Helena 4.71 Calera 4.67 Pinson 4.50
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Sep 22, 1:17 AM CST, 43 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 22, 1:17 AM CST, 43 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 217 AM CDT SUN SEP 22 2002 PLENTY OF MOISTURE AND GOOD LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE WILL CONTINUE TO AID SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT OVER THE AREA TODAY. RAIN MAY BE MORE LIKELY AROUND THE I-59/I-20 CORRIDOR THIS MORNING, AND WITH PWS AROUND 2 INCHES, RAIN COULD BE RATHER HEAVY AT TIMES. LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT, THE FRONT THAT HAS BEEN NEARLY STATIONARY JUST NW OF THE STATE, SHOULD BEGIN MOVING SE AGAIN AND SPREAD DRIER AIR INTO NORTH AND CENTRAL SECTIONS. I EXPECT DRIER AND COOLER CONDITIONS MONDAY WITH THE ONLY POPS ACROSS OUR SOUTHERN ZONES. POPS FOR TODAY ARE SUBJECT TO LAST MINUTE CHANGES. HSV 082/060 081/057 079 4-00 BHM 083/063 081/059 081 6200 MGM 088/068 086/065 083 5332 .BHM...NONE.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
8 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, Randolph
- When
- September 22, 2:00 AM CST to 4:30 AM CST
- Where
- Randolph County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $200,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 33.294, -85.459 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Jefferson
- When
- September 22, 3:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $5.8 million
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 33.554, -86.896 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Shelby
- When
- September 22, 4:00 AM CST to 9:30 AM CST
- Where
- Shelby County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 33.264, -86.661 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, St. Clair
- When
- September 22, 4:00 AM CST to 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- St. Clair County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 33.716, -86.315 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Talladega
- When
- September 22, 4:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Talladega County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 33.380, -86.166 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Chilton
- When
- September 22, 6:30 AM CST to 9:30 AM CST
- Where
- Chilton County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 32.848, -86.719 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Tuscaloosa
- When
- September 22, 6:30 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Tuscaloosa County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 33.290, -87.525 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Wildfire in California, September 22 to 30, 2002
- Rip Current in Louisiana, September 22, 2002
- Rip Current in Florida, September 22, 2002
- High Surf in Hawaii, September 22 to 23, 2002
- Heavy Rain in Massachusetts, September 22 to 23, 2002
- Heavy Rain in Rhode Island, September 22 to 23, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Gulf of Mexico, September 22, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Gulf of Mexico, September 22, 2002
- Flash Flood in Tennessee, September 22, 2002
- Tornado in Alabama, September 22, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Gulf of Mexico, September 22, 2002
- Flood in Texas, September 22 to 23, 2002
More
Every storm in Alabama in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, September 2002
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5315838, 5315841, 5315840, 5315842, 5315843, 5315844, 5315839, 5315845.