Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 32, NWS Phoenix, AZ

September 13, 1996Gila County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Sep 13, 1996, 5:03 PM MST for Gila County, Arizona. It was in force for 117 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
Sep 13, 1996, 5:03 PM MST (00:03 UTC)
Expired
Sep 13, 1996, 7:00 PM MST
In force
117 min
Issued by
NWS Phoenix, 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 00:03 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, 0.1 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tuscon, AZ at 00:00Z on 1996-09-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1046 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 00:00Z on 1996-09-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 30 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1046 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2120 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.0

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 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, Sep 13, 12:24 PM MST, 4 hours 39 minutes before
AZZ015>026-141200-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR THE SOUTHERN HALF OF ARIZONA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
1215 PM MST FRI SEP 13 1996

...MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON OVER SOUTH-
CENTRAL ARIZONA...
...MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT
OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ARIZONA...

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY OVER SOUTHWEST
AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON...AND A MODERATE RISK FOR
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THIS
EVENING AND TONIGHT.  DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS...BRIEF HEAVY
RAIN...INTENSE LIGHTNING...AND HAIL ARE POSSIBLE.  THERE IS A CHANCE
FOR AN ISOLATED TORNADO WITH ONE OF THE STRONGER STORMS.  INDIVIDUAL
STORMS WILL MOVE QUICKLY TO THE NORTHEAST AT 20 TO 25 MPH...SO RAPIDLY
CHANGING WEATHER IS LIKELY TO OCCUR OVER MANY LOCATIONS IN SOUTHERN
ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.  HEAVIEST RAINFALLS ARE LIKELY TO
OCCUR OVER SOUTHEAST ARIZONA TONIGHT.

A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE CURRENTLY NEAR THE CALIFORNIA COAST
IS EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY AS IT MOVES EAST OVER ARIZONA TONIGHT.  UPPER
LEVEL WINDS WITH THIS SYSTEM ARE MUCH STRONGER THAN THE CLIMATOLOGICAL
NORM...WHICH INCREASES THE RISK FOR INTENSE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.

THE AIRMASS OVER SOUTHERN ARIZONA WAS SOMEWHAT UNSTABLE THIS
MORNING...BUT SHOULD DESTABILIZE RAPIDLY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
SOUTHERLY LOW LEVEL WINDS IN ADVANCE OF THE DISTURBANCE WILL TRANSPORT
VERY MOIST AIR FROM MEXICO ACROSS SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ARIZONA
LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.  LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE IS ON THE
INCREASE AS WELL.  SURFACE DEW POINTS AT YUMA INCREASED FROM THE 50S
EARLY TTHIS MORNING INTO THE LOWER 70S BY 10 AM.

GREEN
Special weather statement, Sep 13, 12:31 PM MST, 4 hours 32 minutes before
AZZ015>026-141200-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR THE SOUTHERN HALF OF ARIZONA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ...CORRECTION...
1215 PM MST FRI SEP 13 1996

...MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON OVER SOUTH-
CENTRAL ARIZONA...
...MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT
OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ARIZONA...

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY OVER
SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON...AND A MODERATE
RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST
ARIZONA THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT.  DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS...
BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...INTENSE LIGHTNING...AND HAIL ARE POSSIBLE.  THERE
IS A CHANCE FOR AN ISOLATED TORNADO WITH ONE OF THE STRONGER STORMS.
INDIVIDUAL STORMS WILL MOVE QUICKLY TO THE NORTHEAST AT 20 TO 25
MPH...SO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER IS LIKELY TO OCCUR OVER MANY
LOCATIONS IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.  HEAVIEST
RAINFALLS ARE LIKELY TO OCCUR OVER SOUTHEAST ARIZONA TONIGHT.

A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE CURRENTLY NEAR THE CALIFORNIA COAST
IS EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY AS IT MOVES EAST OVER ARIZONA TONIGHT.
UPPER LEVEL WINDS WITH THIS SYSTEM ARE MUCH STRONGER THAN THE
CLIMATOLOGICAL NORM...WHICH INCREASES THE RISK FOR INTENSE
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.

THE AIRMASS OVER SOUTHERN ARIZONA WAS SOMEWHAT UNSTABLE THIS
MORNING...BUT SHOULD DESTABILIZE RAPIDLY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

SOUTHERLY LOW LEVEL WINDS IN ADVANCE OF THE DISTURBANCE WILL
TRANSPORT VERY MOIST AIR FROM MEXICO ACROSS SOUTH-CENTRAL AND
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.  LOW-LEVEL
MOISTURE IS ON THE INCREASE AS WELL.  SURFACE DEW POINTS AT YUMA
INCREASE\D FROM THE 50S EARLY THIS MORNING INTO THE LOWER 70S BY
10 AM.

GREEN
CORRECTED FIRST SENTENCE
Special weather statement, Sep 13, 2:14 PM MST, 2 hours 49 minutes before
AZZ007-012-013-18>023-140300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
212 PM MST FRI SEP 13 1996

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
ARIZONA UNTIL 800 PM MST...

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN KANSAS CITY HAS ISSUED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ARIZONA.
COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE MARICOPA...PIMA...SANTA
CRUZ...PINAL...THE EASTERN TWO THIRDS OF YAVAPAI...SOUTHERN
COCONINO...AND SOUTHERN NAVAJO.

SOME CITIES AND TOWNS IN THE WATCH AREA INCLUDE THE PHOENIX AND
TUCSON METRO AREAS...FLAGSTAFF...SHOW LOW...WINSLOW...HOLBROOK...
PRESCOTT...CASA GRANDE...GILA BEND...GLOBE...PAYSON...AND SUPERIOR.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS
ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA.  PEOPLE IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ARIZONA SHOULD KEEP ABREAST OF
THE WEATHER SITUATION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND LISTEN FOR
LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

BRUCE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 13, 5:00 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRMaricopa75 min
Sep 14, 3:35 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRGila, Maricopa85 min
Sep 14, 5:00 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRGila, Maricopa90 min
Sep 14, 9:40 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRGila110 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 1996Every flash flood warning 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.