Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 50, NWS Phoenix, AZ

September 3, 1990Maricopa County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 3, 1990, 4:45 PM MST for Maricopa County, Arizona. It was in force for 2 hr. 3 reports 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
Sep 3, 1990, 4:45 PM MST (23:45 UTC)
Expired
Sep 3, 1990, 6:45 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 3, 6:00 PM MSTThunderstorm Wind 0Maricopa, AZ
Sep 3, 6:00 PM MSTThunderstorm Wind 0Maricopa, AZ
Sep 3, 6:10 PM MSTTornado F0Maricopa, 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 nearest sounding before it

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 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 1990-09-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 682 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 1990-09-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 8 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
682 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-170 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1517 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
21 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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, Sep 3, 11:41 AM MST, 5 hours 4 minutes before
AZZALL-032200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX ARIZONA
1140 AM MST MON SEPT 3 1990

...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN AND
   STRONG WINDS MOVING OVER WESTERN MOHAVE COUNTY...AND DEVELOPING
   ELSEWHERE IN ARIZONA...

AT 1135 AM MST...WEATHER RADAR AND SATELLITE PHOTOS INDICATED RAPID
DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS IN ARIZONA. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE
OVER WESTERN MOHAVE COUNTY...AS WELL AS IN THE WHITE MOUNTAIN AREA.
OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WERE INCREASING IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY IN MUCH
OF THE NORTH AND EAST HALVES OF ARIZONA. GENERAL STORM MOVEMENT WAS
TO THE NORTH AND NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

SINCE THE ATMOSPHERE IS UNUSUALLY MOIST...ANY SHOWERS FALLING FROM
THUNDERSTORMS COULD BE QUITE HEAVY.  ITS NOT UNLIKELY THAT A SUDDEN
CLOUDBURST COULD DROP MORE THAN AN INCH OF RAIN IN A SHORT TIME...AND
CAUTION IS URGED.
<
DUE TO THE RANDOM NATURE OF THUNDERSTORMS ITS HARD TO PREDICT PRECISELY
WHO WILL GET THE HEAVY RAIN.  SOIL CONDITIONS AROUND ARIZONA ARE FAIRLY
SATURATED FROM PERVIOUS RAINS...WHICH HEIGHTENS THE POTENTIAL FOR RAPID
RUNOFF IN NORMALLY DRY WASHES AND CANYONS.

HOLIDAY RECREATIONALISTS AROUND THE STATE...INCLUDING BOATERS AND
CAMPERS...SHOULD BE ALERT FOR WEATHER CHANGES IN YOUR AREA TODAY.

BOATERS AND THOSE OUTDOORS ALONG THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER IN MOHAVE
COUNTY SHOULD BE ESPECIALLY ON THE ALERT FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
DUIRING THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

THE VERY HUMID AND UNSTABLE WEATHER PATTERN WILL ALSO CONTINUE OVER
THE STATE THROUGH TUESDAY.

FRANJEVIC
MWF 09/03/1841Z

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 3, 1:22 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRMohave68 min
Sep 3, 1:22 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRMohave68 min
Sep 3, 3:41 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRLa Paz, Yuma2 hr
Sep 3, 3:41 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRLa Paz, Yuma2 hr
Sep 3, 4:31 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRYuma119 min
Sep 3, 4:31 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRYuma119 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.