Alert archive / Arizona / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Flagstaff, AZ
NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued this tornado warning at Aug 29, 1996, 7:50 PM MST for Gila County, Arizona. It was in force for 30 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 29, 1996, 7:50 PM MST (02:50 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 29, 1996, 8:20 PM MST
- In force
- 30 min
- Issued by
- NWS Flagstaff, AZ
- Area
- Whole counties
County Gila County, AZ
The radar
The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 93 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:53 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
The nearest sounding before it
Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 181 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 868 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2548 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 3 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 2 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 47 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFLG 300251 TORFLG AZC007-300320- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 750 PM MST THU AUG 29 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FLAGSTAFF HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 820 PM MST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA ...NORTH CENTRAL GILA COUNTY AT 750 PM MST FLAGSTAFF DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 10 MILES EAST OF PAYSON MOVING NORTHWEST AT 15 MPH. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO, THE SAFEST PLACE IN A HOME OR BUSINESS IS AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS. MEC
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Aug 29, 2:02 PM MST, 5 hours 48 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 29, 2:02 PM MST, 5 hours 48 minutes before
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 200 PM MST THU AUG 29 1996 5H RIDGE AXIS TO SWING OVER CWA NEXT FEW DAYS. SOME DRYING MID TO UPPER LEVELS TO OCCUR...MAINLY OVER THE NORTHERN PORTIONS. DECENT DP VALUES SHOWING UP IN LITTLE CO VALLEY AS WELL AS OVER YAVAPAI CNTY AT THIS TIME. EXPECT DECENT ACT TO DEVELOP LATER ON THIS AFT IN THIS AFT AND EVENING WITH STORMS PROPAGATING SOUTHWARD INTO THE VALLEYS...WHERE GREATEST MOISTURE LIES. KEEPING POPS UP THIS EVENING ZNS 7 13. IN EXTENDED SLOWLY DRYING THINGS OFF N TO S AS DRYER AIR WORKS IN. FOR TEMPS MAKING SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO NGM MOS. MCGRATH
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 29, 2:12 PM MST, 5 hours 38 minutes before
AZZ007-292315- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 210 PM MST THU AUG 29 1996 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN CENTRAL YAVAPAI COUNTY... AT 210 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL YAVAPAI COUNTY. THE STRONGEST STORM WAS OVER PRESCOTT VALLEY MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 10 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL AFFECT PRESCOTT VALLEY THROUGH 230 PM AND PRESCOTT BY 245 PM. A SKYWARN WEATHER SPOTTER IN PRESCOTT VALLEY REPORTED 1/2 INCH HAIL WITH THIS STORM AT 210 PM. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS AND A STORM APPROACHES...MOVE TO A PLACE OF SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. MOTORISTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR STREET FLOODING AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN HEAVY RAIN. SIGLER
Special weather statement, Aug 29, 4:10 PM MST, 3 hours 40 minutes before
AZZ012-300010- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 407 PM MST THU AUG 29 1996 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING 1/4 TO 1/2 INCH SIZE HAIL IN SOUTH CENTRAL COCONINO COUNTY... AT 405 PM...A THUNDERSTORM WAS IN PROGRESS AT THE FLAGSTAFF NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BELLEMONT...10 MILES WEST OF FLAGSTAFF ALONG I-40 AND WAS PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN AND 1/4 TO 1/2 INCH SIZE HAIL. DRIVERS WEST OF FLAGSTAFF ON I-40 SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR REDUCED VISIBILITY IN HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL. SIGLER
Special weather statement, Aug 29, 5:12 PM MST, 2 hours 38 minutes before
AZZ014-300215- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 510 PM MST THU AUG 29 1996 ...THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE WHITE MOUNTAINS PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING... AT 510 PM MST...FLAGSTAFF NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS WITH THE STRONGEST STORM BETWEEN HAWLEY AND LEE VALLEY LAKES WITH ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR ALPINE. A WEATHER SPOTTER IN ALPINE REPORTED .38 INCHES OF RAIN IN A HALF HOUR. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS AND A STORM APPROACHES...MOVE TO A PLACE OF SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. MOTORISTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR STREET FLOODING AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN HEAVY RAIN. SIGLER
Special weather statement, Aug 29, 6:36 PM MST, 1 hour 14 minutes before
AZZ007-300215- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 635 PM MST THU AUG 29 1996 ...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS AND HAIL MOVING INTO NORTHERN YAVAPAI COUNTY... AT 630 PM MST FLAGSTAFF DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS AND HAIL BETWEEN JEROME, SEDONA, AND COTTONWOOD. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTH AT ABOUT 20 MPH AND WILL AFFECT CAMP VERDE AND MCGUIREVILLE AND HIGHWAYS 89A AND 260 BY 730 PM. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS AND A STORM APPROACHES, MOVE TO A PLACE OF SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. MOTORISTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR STREET FLOODING AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN HEAVY RAIN. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR COMMERCIAL NEWS SOURCES FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. MEC
The office that day
Everything else NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 5:22 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGZ | Coconino | 58 min |
| Aug 29, 5:35 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGZ | Gila | 40 min |
| Aug 29, 6:17 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGZ | Gila, Navajo | 43 min |
| Aug 29, 6:47 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGZ | Yavapai | 48 min |
| Aug 29, 7:05 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGZ | Gila | 45 min |
| Aug 29, 9:06 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGZ | Yavapai | 44 min |
| Aug 30, 2:50 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGZ | Yavapai | 40 min |
| Aug 30, 3:50 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGZ | Yavapai | 30 min |
| Aug 30, 4:06 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGZ | Yavapai | 44 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Arizona, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes in 1996
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.