Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 48, NWS Phoenix, AZ

August 14, 1990Maricopa County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 14, 1990, 12:00 PM MST for Maricopa County, Arizona. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 14, 1990, 12:00 PM MST (19:00 UTC)
Expired
Aug 14, 1990, 2:18 PM MST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Phoenix, AZ
Area
Whole counties

County Maricopa 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

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 12:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 198 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, Tuscon, AZ at 12:00Z on 1990-08-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 29 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Tuscon, AZ at 12:00Z on 1990-08-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -30 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
29 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
806 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-30 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 141909
FFWPHX
AZC013-021-025-142145-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX ARIZONA
1200 PM MST TUE AUG 14 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX ARIZONA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  300 PM MST
FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
 
 ...CENTRAL MARICOPA COUNTY...THE GREATER PHOENIX...SALT RIVER
   RECREATIONAL LAKES...AND APACHE JUNCTION...
 
 ....IN PINAL COUNTY INCLUDING THE CITIES AND HIGHWAYS CONNECTING
   CASA GRANDE...COOLIDGE...FLORENCE... SUPERIOR...AND THE SMALLER
   TOWNS OF KEARNY...HAYDEN...AND MAMMOTH...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL ARIZONA
 
 ...SOUTHEAST YAVAPAI COUNTY...FROM PRESCOTT SOUTH TO THE NORTH
   EDGE OF THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA... INCLUDING INTERSTATE 17...
 
 
AT 12 PM SATELLITE AND RADAR INFORMATION SHOWED AND EXTENSIVE AREA OF
RAIN ENCOMPASSING MOST OF CENTRAL ARIZONA.  RAIN IN THE GREATER
PHOENIX AREA HAS TAPPERED OFF TO OCCASIONALLY MODERATE...HOWEVER
ENOUGH TO CONTINUE TO AGGRAVATE THE FLOODING SITUATION.
 
THE TOWN OF DESERT HILLS IN THE FAR NORTH PART OF THE GREATER PHOENIX
AREA REPORTED 3.42 INCHES OF RAIN IN LESS THAN 2 HOURS.   A STORM
SPOTTER IN CENTRAL PHOENIX...16TH STREET AND MISSOURI.. REPORTED
NEARLY 3 INCHES OF RAIN THIS MORNING.
 
HEAVY RAIN WAS SPREADING INTO SOUTHERN YAVAPAI COUNTY AT NOON.
DEVELOPING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BETWEEN PRESCOTT AND PHOENIX ARE
EXPECTED TO PRODUCE HEAVY AMOUNTS THAT WILL LEAD TO FLOOD OR FLASH
FLOODING.
 
 
AGAIN THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 3 PM.
 
 
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.
 
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.
 
MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DONT TRY TO CROSS
FLOODING WASHES OR STREAMS. NEVER DRIVE ONTO A BRIDGE COVERED BY
WATER. STAY OFF FLOODED CITY STREETS. OUTSIDE THE CITY...STAY ON MAIN
HIGHWAYS. AVOID SECONDARY ROADS 'AND FARM ROADS...ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT.
 
VASQUEZ

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 13, 5:30 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRLa Paz, Mohave3 hr
Aug 13, 8:03 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRYuma117 min
Aug 14, 8:15 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRGila, Maricopa, Pinal4 hr
Aug 14, 12:00 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRPinal3 hr
Aug 14, 12:00 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRYavapai3 hr
Aug 14, 2:18 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRYavapai3 hr
Aug 14, 2:18 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRMaricopa3 hr
Aug 14, 4:30 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRLa Paz, Yuma60 min
Aug 14, 4:30 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRLa Paz, Yuma60 min

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.