Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 33, NWS Phoenix, AZ

August 11, 1990Yuma County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 11, 1990, 7:08 PM MST for Yuma County, Arizona. It was in force for 2 hr. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 11, 1990, 7:08 PM MST (02:08 UTC)
Expired
Aug 11, 1990, 9:15 PM MST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Phoenix, AZ
Area
Whole counties

County Yuma County, AZ

The radar

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

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 11, 8:00 PM MSTThunderstorm Wind 69Yuma, AZ

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KYUM 120208
SVRYUM
AZC027-120415-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE YUMA AZ
708 PM MST SAT AUG 11 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 915 PM MST FOR PEOPLE 
IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE SOUTHWEST PART OF ARIZONA
      YUMA

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR YUMA COUNTY HAS BEEN EXTENDED
TO COVER THE ENTIRE COUNTY. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING
WEST...WITH WINDS GUSTING NEAR 60 MPH AND HEAVY BLOWING DUST. THE
STORMS WILL LIKELY REACH THE COLORADO RIVER BEFORE 730 PM.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAUSE DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND DEADLY
LIGHTNING. MOVE INSIDE A REINFORCED BUILDING OR STORM SHELTER. GO
TO AN INTERIOR ROOM OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. STAY AWAY FROM
WINDOWS.

IF YOU ARE BOATING OR SWIMMING...HEAD FOR SHORE IMMEDIATELY. STAY
AWAY FROM THE WATER. TAKE SHELTER IN A STRONG BUILDING IF POSSIBLE.
YOUR CAR MAY GIVE YOU SOME PROTECTION IF NOT PARKED UNDER A TREE OR
IN A WASH.

WATCH OUT FOR FLASH FLOODING. STAY AWAY FROM STREAMS AND AVOID
NARROW...STEEP WALLED CANYONS. DONT DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED STREAMS
OR WASHES...OR INTO FLOODED CITY STREETS OR UNDERPASSES.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 11, 1:23 PM MST, 5 hours 45 minutes before
AZZALL-112330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX ARIZONA
120 PM MST SAT AUG 11 1990

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING QUICKLY OVER THE NORTH AND
EAST HALVES OF ARIZONA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. AT 115 PM MST...PHOENIX
WEATHER RADAR SHOWED THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS IN YAVAPAI COUNTY...
AND IN EXTREME SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY. LITTLE MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS
WAS NOTED.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP FOR THE REST OF THE
AFTERNOON AND INTO THE NIGHTTIME HOURS. THE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE
MOST NUMEROUS IN THE NORTH AND EAST HALVES OF THE STATE...BUT WILL
SLOWLY SPREAD OVER THE LOWER WESTERN AND SOUTHCENTRAL DESERTS BY LATE
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CAUSE STRONG GUSTY AND SHIFTING WINDS
...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...FREQUENT AND DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND AREAS
OF DENSE BLOWING DUST IN THE DESERTS.
<
IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON BEING OUT AND ABOUT IN ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON
OR TONIGHT...CAMPING...HIKING...BOATING...OR DRIVING...YOU ARE STRONGLY
URGED TO PAY ATTENTION TO WEATHER CONDITIONS IN YOUR AREA.

LOOK FOR WEATHER CHANGES THAT MIGHT SIGNAL THAT NASTY STORMS ARE HEADED
YOUR WAY...SUCH AS BLACK...THREATENING SKIES...INCREASED AND SWIRLING
WINDS...AND VERY DARK RAIN SHAFTS FROM CLOUD TO GROUND THAT ARE NEARBY
AND APPEAR TO BE APPROACHING YOUR LOCALITY.

DO NOT TRY TO CROSS FLOODED WASHES...SMALL STREAMS OR CREEKS...LOW
AREAS..OR ROADWAY DIPS. SOMETIMES A SHORT CUT IS NOT THE BEST
ALTERNATIVE TO SAVING TIME IN STORMY WEATHER SITUATIONS. IF YOU ARE
NEAR WATERWAYS...KEEP A SHARP AND WARY EYE ON NASTY LOOKING WEATHER
OCCURRING UPSTREAM OF YOUR AREA...AND SEEK SAFE SHELTER TO HIGHER
GROUND...I4F THE WATER LEVEL BEGINS TO RISE.

FRANJEVIC
MWF 08/11/2023Z
Special weather statement, Aug 11, 4:44 PM MST, 2 hours 24 minutes before
AZZALL-120230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX ARIZONA
440 PM MST SAT AUG 11 1990

AT 430 PM THUNDERSTORMS WERE CONTINUING TO DEVELOP ACROSS ARIZONA. THE
STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED ACROSS PIMA COUNTY...IN A LARGE
BAND STRETCHING ACROSS CENTRAL ARIZONA FROM NEAR BLYTHE CALIFORNIA EAST
TO THE WHITE MOUNTAINS...AND NEAR THE GRAND CANYON.

MOVEMENT OF THE THUNDERSTORMS OVER PIMA COUNTY WAS TOWARD THE WEST AND
NORTH...WHILE THOSE ACROSS CENTRAL ARIZONA WERE SLOWLY MOVING TOWARD
THE SOUTH.

AT THE PRESENT TIME NO THUNDERSTORMS WERE NOTED NEAR PHOENIX...BUT
MOVEMENT OF STORMS TOWARD THE CITY FROM BOTH THE SOUTH AND NORTH
STRONGLY SUGGEST THE POSSIBILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE GREATER
PHOENIX AREA IN ANOTHER HOUR OR TWO. IN FACT AT 430 PM A DUST STORM
WAS REPORTED MOVING NORTH THROUGH CASA GRANDE.
>
A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WILL CONTINUE
TO CAUSE STRONG GUSTY WINDS...WITH BRIEF PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN.
ALSO...THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF HAIL FROM A FEW OF THIS AFTERNOONS
THUNDERSTORMS...AND THIS THREAT WILL REMAIN THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS.

MOTORISTS AND PEOPLE OUTDOORS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WILL NEED TO
USE CAUTION AND WATCH FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS...
LEADING TO FLASH FLOODING OF WASHES...NORMALLY DRY CREEKS...AND ROADWAY
DIPS. IN ADDITION...MOTORISTS DRIVING IN DESERT AREAS WILL NEED TO
WATCH FOR BLOWING DUST...POSSIBLY RESULTING IN NEAR ZERO VISIBILITY._

JP 112340Z
Special weather statement, Aug 11, 5:39 PM MST, 1 hour 29 minutes before
AZZALL-120230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX ARIZONA
540 PM MST SAT AUG 11 1990

AT 530 PM LOCALLY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE PRESENT AT A NUMBER OF
LOCATIONS. THE MAJORITY OF THE ACTION HAS SHIFTED TO THE SOUTHWEST
THIRD OF THE STATE BUT THUNDERSTORMS WERE STILL PRESENT NEAR PAYSON
...AND JUST EAST OF ALPINE. ELSEWHERE ACROSS NORTHERN AND EASTERN
ARIZONA THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WAS ON THE DECREASE AT 530 PM.

OF PARTICULAR NOTE WERE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER WESTERN MARICOPA
AND EASTERN YUMA COUNTIES. STORMS IN THIS AREA HAVE PRODUCED STRONG
GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN...IN ADDITION TO DUST STORMS.

MOTORISTS...HIKERS...AND CAMPERS WILL NEED TO WATCH WEATHER CONDITIONS
CAREFULLY THE NEXT FEW HOURS DUE TO THUNDERSTORMS. WASHES...NORMALLY
DRY CREEKS...AND ROADWAY DIPS COULD QUICKLY BECOME FILLED WITH WATER
...AND IN DESERT AREAS VISIBILITY COULD RAPIDLY BE REDUCED TO NEAR
ZERO DUE TO BLOWING DUST.
JP 120040Z
Special weather statement, Aug 11, 5:43 PM MST, 1 hour 25 minutes before
AZZ007 120100

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE YUMA AZ
545 PM MST SAT AUG 11 1990

  ...THUNDERSTORMS WERE BUILDING OVER YUMA COUNTY LATE THIS AFTERNOON...

RADAR AT THE AEROSTAT BALLOON SITE...IN WESTCENTRAL YUMA COUNTY...
INDICATED A NEARBY STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER CASTLE DOME. OTHER STORMS
WERE DEVELOPING OVER THE COPPER AND MOHAWK MOUNTAINS JUST SOUTH OF
INTERSTATE 8.

THESE STORMS ARE A THREAT TO MOTORISTS ON INTERSTATE 8 AND HIGHWAY 95.
HEAVY SHOWERS AND STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED FROM THE STORMS...WITH GUSTS
AROUND 50 MPH CAUSING BLOWING DUST AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES. MOTORISTS
ARE URGED TO DRIVE WITH CAUTION. IF CAUGHT IN A DUST STORM...PULL TO
THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND PARK...WITH BRAKE LIGHTS OFF.

MORE THUNDERSTORM DEVELPMENT IS EXPECTED INTO THE EARLY EVENING...WITH
DECREASING ACTIVITY LATER TONIGHT.
.
MATHESON
Special weather statement, Aug 11, 5:45 PM MST, 1 hour 23 minutes before
AZZALL-120130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX ARIZONA
545 PM MST SAT AUG 11 1990

AT 540 PM A DUST STORM WAS REPORTED IN PROGRESS IN THE TEMPE AREA...
MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH. WINDS WITH THE STORM WERE ESTIMATED BETWEEN
25 AND 35 MPH...AND VISILITY TO BETWEEN ONE QUARTER AND A HALF MILE.

THIS DUST STORM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE EAST AND CENRAL PORTIONS OF THE
PHOENIX AREA...SLOWLY DECREASING ITS INTENSITY...DURING THE NEXT HOUR.

JP 120045Z
Special weather statement, Aug 11, 7:06 PM MST, 2 minutes before
AZZALL-120300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX ARIZONA
705 PM MST SAT AUG 11 1990

AT 7 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS IN THE GLENDALE
AREA. THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAION AS WELL AS STRONG
WINDS.

MOVEMENT OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WAS UNKNOWN...BUT THEY MAY BUILD BACK
TOWARD PHOENIX. FLOODING OF SOME ROADS IN THE NORTHWEST PORTION OF THE
VALLEY WILL PROBABLY TAKE PLACE. THUS MOTORISTS WIL!L NEED TO USE
CAUTION FOR THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO.

JP 120205Z

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 11, 6:19 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRYuma116 min
Aug 11, 6:19 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRYuma116 min
Aug 11, 6:26 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRMaricopa64 min
Aug 11, 6:26 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRMaricopa64 min
Aug 11, 6:55 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRLa Paz2 hr
Aug 11, 6:55 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRLa Paz2 hr
Aug 11, 7:08 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRYuma2 hr
Aug 11, 7:27 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRMaricopa63 min
Aug 11, 7:27 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRMaricopa63 min
Aug 11, 8:23 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRMaricopa67 min
Aug 11, 8:23 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRMaricopa67 min
Aug 11, 9:15 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRLa Paz60 min
Aug 12, 4:07 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRMohave95 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 1990Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data.