Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 16, NWS Phoenix, AZ

July 13, 1990Mohave County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Jul 13, 1990, 11:34 PM MST for Mohave County, Arizona. It was in force for 116 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 13, 1990, 11:34 PM MST (06:34 UTC)
Expired
Jul 14, 1990, 1:30 AM MST
In force
116 min
Issued by
NWS Phoenix, AZ
Area
Whole counties

County Mohave County, AZ

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Mercury/Desert R, NV (KDRA), launched 00:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 226 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, Mercury/Desert R, NV at 00:00Z on 1990-07-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Mercury/Desert R, NV at 00:00Z on 1990-07-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -18 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3451 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-18 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
23 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KPHX 140645 COR
FFWPHX
AZC015-140830-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED ...CORRECTION
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX ARIZONA
1134 PM MST FRI JUL 13 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX ARIZONA HAS ISSUED A
FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  130 AM MST
FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS......

IN NORTHWEST ARIZONA

   ...SOUTHWESTERN MOHAVE COUNTY... WHICH INCLUDES AN AREA ALONG THE
COLORADO RIVER BETWEEN LAKE HAVASU AND BULLHEAD CITY UNTIL 130 AM.


NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WITH INTENSE RAINFALL CONTINUED OVER WEST
CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MOHAVE COUNTY AT 1115 PM. THE HARDEST HIT AREA
WAS BULLHEAD CITY WHERE SEVERE FLOODING...WATER RUNNING 4 TO 5 FEET
DEEP IN SPOTS... WAS CARRYING AWAY VEHICLES. HIGHWAY 95 THROUGH
BULLHEAD CITY IS CLOSED AND THE FLOODING SITUATION IS VERY SERIOUS.

AT 1115 PM SATELLITE PICTURES SHOWED THE HEAVY RAIN AREAS WERE
EXPANDING SOUTHWEST ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER TOWARDS NEEDLES...GOLDEN
SHORES AND POSSIBLY TOWARDS LAKE HAVASU.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION.  MOTORISTS ENROUTE OR PLANNING TRAVEL
TO THE COLORADO RIVER AREAS BETWEEN LAKE HAVASU AND BULLHEAD CITY ARE
DISCOURAGED FROM DOING SO.

EARLIER IN THE EVENING BULLHEAD CITY WAS STRUCK BY A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM.  WINDS OF 71 MPH WERE RECORDED AT THE FIRE STATION.


URBAN FLOODING IS OVERFLOW OF CITY STREETS AND DRAINAGE SYSTEMS...
ENOUGH TO FLOOD RESIDENCES AND BUSINESSES AND CLOSE CITY STREETS.
POSTPONE ANY UNNECESSARY DRIVING UNTIL THE STORM IS OVER.

FLASH FLOODING IS ALREADY HAPPENING OR ABOUT TO HAPPEN. MOVE AWAY
FROM STREAMS OR WASHES. HEAD FOR HIGHER GROUND. ON THE HIGHWAY...SLOW
DOWN AND KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT AHEAD FOR FLOODING.
VASQUEZ

The office that day

Everything else NWS Phoenix, AZ issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 13, 6:40 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRYavapai2 hr
Jul 13, 6:40 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRLa Paz, Mohave2 hr
Jul 13, 8:03 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRLa Paz, Yavapai117 min
Jul 13, 8:03 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRMohave117 min
Jul 13, 8:03 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRMaricopa117 min
Jul 13, 8:03 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRLa Paz, Mohave117 min
Jul 13, 8:03 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRMaricopa117 min
Jul 13, 8:44 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRMohave3 hr
Jul 13, 8:44 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRMohave3 hr
Jul 13, 10:42 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRMohave48 min
Jul 13, 10:42 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRMohave48 min
Jul 14, 1:41 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRLa Paz, Mohave3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 1990Every flash flood warning in 1990

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.