Flash Flood Emergency in Birmingham Area as Deadly Storms Continue To Rake Across the South The Weather Channel 5/5/2021 Ron Brackett and Jan Wesner Childs This article is no longer being updated. For the latest on the severe storms' impacts, . The National Weather Service in Birmingham declared a flash flood emergency Tuesday evening for portions of Jefferson and Shelby counties. A flash flood emergency is a rare alert that indicates an imminent, life-threatening danger of flooding. The emergency was in effect until 8:15 p.m. CDT. The NWS warned that additional rainfall of 2 inches was possible. "This will exacerbate ongoing flash flooding & cause additional flash flooding," the NWS tweeted.