Flash Flood Warning Bibb/Calhoun/Hale/Shelby/St. Clair/Talladega Counties until 7AM

A line of very heavy rain continues to move across these areas. Expect several inches of rain to fall within this band of showers and storms. Numerous areas are seeing rapid rise in water levels and reports coming in of flooding. Several more hours of very heavy rain will occur and conditions will only deteriorate the rest of tonight.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR…
BIBB COUNTY IN ALABAMA…
CALHOUN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA…
HALE COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA…
SHELBY COUNTY IN ALABAMA…
ST. CLAIR COUNTY IN ALABAMA…
TALLADEGA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA…

* UNTIL 700 AM CDT

* AT 1255 AM CDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL MOVING OVER THE SAME AREAS
THAT HAVE ALREADY OBSERVED 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAINFALL OVER THE LAST
FEW HOURS. AN ADDITIONAL 2 TO 3 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT
SEVERAL HOURS…AND FLASH FLOODING WILL BE LIKELY AS SOILS HAVE
BECOME COMPLETELY SATURATED.

* RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING TO
OCCUR. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE…
ALABASTER…ANNISTON…BRENT…CALERA…CENTREVILLE…CHELSEA…
CHILDERSBURG…COBB TOWN…COLUMBIANA…FORT MCCLELLAN…
GREENSBORO…HELENA…JACKSONVILLE…MONTEVALLO…MOODY…
ODENVILLE…OXFORD…PELHAM…PELL CITY…PIEDMONT…SAKS…
SPRINGVILLE…SYLACAUGA…TALLADEGA…TALLADEGA SPRINGS…WEST
END-COBB TOWN…WILSONVILLE…AKRON…ALEXANDRIA AND ALPINE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION. RAINFALL FROM PERSISTENT RAINBANDS
WILL PRODUCE FLOODING IN LOW LYING AREAS AND ALONG STREETS. MANY
ROADS WILL BE CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER AND DRIVING IS NOT RECOMMENDED
DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.

ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE
WARNED AREA.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS…HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY…
COUNTRY ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS…STREAMS AND
OTHER LOW LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLOODING.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODING. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT QUICKLY. DO
NOT ENTER THE WATER. TURN AROUND AND MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO
ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN
WATER BEGINS RISING.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY.
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY
AUTOMOBILE.

Category: Alabama's Weather, Severe Weather