Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1993

Flash Flood Warning 7, NWS Tucson, AZ

July 11, 1993Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Jul 11, 1993, 2:40 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 60 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 11, 1993, 2:40 PM MST (21:40 UTC)
Expired
Jul 11, 1993, 3:40 PM MST
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Whole counties

County Pima County, AZ

The nearest sounding before it

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 84 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 1993-07-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 676 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 1993-07-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 20 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
676 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-63 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1396 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
26 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 KTUS 112142
FFWTUS
AZC019-112240-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
240 PM MST SUN JUL 11 1993
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON ARIZONA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  345 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
 
   ...EASTERN PIMA COUNTY
 
AT 235 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM LOCATED
NEAR VAIL IN EASTERN PIMA COUNTY. THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS PRODUCING VERY
HEAVY RAIN...HAIL...STRONG WIND AND DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING.
 
MOVEMENT WAS WEST AT ABOUT 10 MPH.  PERSONS IN THE VICINITY OF THE
SOUTHERN PART OF THE RINCON MOUNTAINS...VAIL...CORONA DE TUCSON AND
THE SOUTHEASTERN PORTIONS OF THE GREATER TUCSON AREA ARE URGED TO
SEEK SHELTER FROM THIS DANGEROUS STORM.
 
MOTORISTS ALONG INTERSTATE 10 SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION.  BE AWARE OF
FLASH FLOODING OF NORMALLY DRY WASHES...HIGHWAY DIPS AND OTHER LOW
SPOTS.
 
REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MEANS WINDS OF MORE THAN 55 MPH AND
HAIL 3/4 INCH OR MORE IN DIAMETER.
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOWZ SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A
SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.
 
WEBER

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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, Jul 11, 11:29 AM MST, 3 hours 11 minutes before
AZC003-019-023-112130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
1129 AM MST SUN JUL 11 1993

AT 11:10 AM SIGNIFICANT THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WAS NOTED IN SANTA
CRUZ...SOUTHERN COCHISE AND EASTERN PIMA COUNTIES. LIGHTNING
DETECTORS...WEATHER RADAR AND RAIN GUAGES SHOWED SOME OF THE STRONGEST
THUNDERSTORM CELLS JUST 25 MILES SOUTHWEST OF TUCSON OVER THE KEYSTONE
PEAK AREA. A RAIN GUAGE ON THE PEAK MEASURED OVER AN INCH OF RAIN IN
LESS THAN 45 MIN.  THERE WAS VERY SLOW NORTHWEST MOVEMENT OF THESE
STORMS WHICH CAN RESULT IN VERY HEAVY LOCAL RAINFALL.

THIS ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO BE ONLY THE START OF A VERY WEATHER ACTIVE
DAY FOR THESE AREAS.  CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED IF A THUNDERSTORM
APPROACHES YOUR AREA.  REMEMBER THUNDERSTORMS OFTEN HARBOR DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING...HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WIND AS WELL AS HEAVY RAINFALL.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR FAVORITE NEWS SOURCE IF ANY FLASH FLOOD WATCHES OR
WARNINGS SHOULD NEED TO BE ISSUED.

CARTER
Special weather statement, Jul 11, 11:31 AM MST, 3 hours 9 minutes before
AZC003-019-023-112130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
1129 AM MST SUN JUL 11 1993

AT 11:10 AM SIGNIFICANT THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WAS NOTED IN SANTA
CRUZ...SOUTHERN COCHISE AND EASTERN PIMA COUNTIES. LIGHTNING
DETECTORS...WEATHER RADAR AND RAIN GUAGES SHOWED SOME OF THE STRONGEST
THUNDERSTORM CELLS JUST 25 MILES SOUTHWEST OF TUCSON OVER THE KEYSTONE
PEAK AREA. A RAIN GUAGE ON THE PEAK MEASURED OVER AN INCH OF RAIN IN
LESS THAN 45 MIN.  THERE WAS VERY SLOW NORTHWEST MOVEMENT OF THESE
STORMS WHICH CAN RESULT IN VERY HEAVY LOCAL RAINFALL.

THIS ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO BE ONLY THE START OF A VERY WEATHER ACTIVE
DAY FOR THESE AREAS.  CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED IF A THUNDERSTORM
APPROACHES YOUR AREA.  REMEMBER THUNDERSTORMS OFTEN HARBOR DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING...HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WIND AS WELL AS HEAVY RAINFALL.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR FAVORITE NEWS SOURCE IF ANY FLASH FLOOD WATCHES OR
WARNINGS SHOULD NEEdD TO BE ISSUED.

CARTER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 11, 1:11 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima64 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 1993Every flash flood warning in 1993

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.