Special Weather Statement

 4:54 PM note - I know there is a lot of lightning and are a lot of scary looking (scud) clouds with this storm cluster near the city of Cullman especially, but so far, not seeing any evidence of concerning rotation or any wind damage happening. 

However some hail has been reported at Smoke Rise over in Blount County. 

The center of the Low that used to be the hurricane are now in Arkansas, and our wind shear was a lot weaker today. But the unstable air was a lot more plentiful. The stable air kept us from having any problems with storms or isolated tornadoes yesterday. The lack of wind shear has helped us out today. 

5:24 PM - This advisory has now expired. But I can certainly confirm the Flash Flood Warning that remains in effect, I believe until 7 PM. Please be careful if you have to be out driving, and do not try to cross any water that completely covers a roadway. "Turn around - don't drown." Seriously. Every sidewalk I can see, stepping outside, is covered with water, and a lot of just the grass has big puddles forming. We got a lot of rain in a short time. The warning verified. I will say though, I saw a car go by on the nearest road, and it sprayed a lot of water in its path, but the road looked like it only had what you'd call nuisance flooding. It's rare to see this much rain around here though, just in people's yards. 

Also a report from about 20 minutes ago, a tree came down near Good Hope, along Highway 69 and County Road 223. That was reported to the National Weather Service by Emergency Management. 

@spann flooding at Kid's Turf Preschool by Good Hope School in Cullman! pic.twitter.com/GiTYun8Cka

— Denise York (@Denise22692071) September 13, 2024

And a lady named Denise York reported this flooding in Good Hope via Twitter, or I guess now more people are calling it X.  

5:33 - Just a thought, still kind of weirded out that I got no alert for the Flash Flood Warning by weather radio (which I put fresh batteries in last night . . . plus it's plugged up and on alert), when the weekly tests have been coming through fine. I have joked that my cats might have knocked it in the floor too many times, when it misses an alert, and it is a really old device. But the weekly tests are coming through fine. And what is weirder is that my cell phone did not get a Wireless Emergency Alert. And usually I thought they were supposed to broadcast flood warnings. 

A friend of mine who is in Vinemont today did get the Flash Flood Warning on his phone, but he said he thought it was through a Weather Channel app (which I don't have on my phone). I do have WEA enabled, everything but asking the phone to also display them in Spanish. So I don't know what's up with that. If it was only the weather radio, I'd say I'm just overdue to buy a new one after 15 years or however long exactly I've had that one. It has taken some hard knocks. But for the phone to also not broadcast it still kind of puzzles me. I had to look online to catch that flood warning. And they did issue it (the National Weather Service) before the heavy rain started here. The warning was excellent. Something got messed up in the communication of it, at least for me. I guess my weather radio and cell phone could both be to blame, but it seems more likely that there was a glitch today. And it was not a good day to have a glitch. I'd be interested if other people had the same problem. If so, maybe some people could put their heads together and figure out what happened here. 

5:52 - The flash flood warning for Cullman, Morgan, and Lawrence Counties continues until 7 PM. It's more for the Eastern part of Lawrence and the Western part of Morgan counties. But emergency management has confirmed the flooding. 

Flash flood warning has also been extended into Blount and Jefferson Counties, affecting communities like Smoke Rise and Blount Springs, Sumiton and Warrior. It is well Northwest of the city of Birmingham. 

6:58 PM - The Flash Flood Warning is extended to 9 PM. 

It would not be impossible for someone in our region to see an isolated tornado spin up before tonight is over, but I think the risk is very, very low. Yesterday we didn't have the unstable air for it, and today we didn't have the wind shear. Sometimes we do luck out with these hurricanes that move inland. I don't want to jinx it, but it looks like this was one of those times. 

Special Weather Statement

National Weather Service Huntsville AL

434 PM CDT Fri Sep 13 2024

ALZ016-132215-

Cullman AL-

434 PM CDT Fri Sep 13 2024

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT CULLMAN COUNTY THROUGH 515 PM

CDT...

At 433 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near

Blount Springs, or 16 miles northeast of Sumiton, moving northeast at

25 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and pea size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around

         unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is

         possible.

Locations impacted include...

Cullman, Hanceville, Good Hope, Holly Pond, Dodge City, Baldwin,

Vinemont, West Point, Garden City, and Colony.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to

localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded

roadways.

Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.

Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe

shelter inside a building or vehicle.

&&

LAT...LON 3389 8702 3427 8703 3423 8652 3412 8660

      3412 8663 3409 8666 3408 8670 3405 8668

      3406 8671 3403 8670 3403 8672 3397 8677

      3395 8679 3395 8685 3393 8686 3394 8688

      3392 8689 3391 8692 3387 8694

TIME...MOT...LOC 2133Z 207DEG 21KT 3392 8685

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN

MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

$$

RSB