Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 18, NWS Tucson, AZ

July 9, 1996Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Jul 9, 1996, 12:25 AM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 50 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
Jul 9, 1996, 12:25 AM MST (07:25 UTC)
Expired
Jul 9, 1996, 1:15 AM MST
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Whole counties

County Pima County, AZ

The nearest sounding before it

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 00:00Z, 7.4 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 00:00Z on 1996-07-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1063 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 1996-07-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 32 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
1063 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-92 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2192 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
97 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 090725
FFWTUS
AZC019-090815-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
1225 AM MST TUE JUL 9 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON ARIZONA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  115 AM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
 
   ...SOUTHEASTERN PIMA COUNTY
 
AT 1220 AM MST TUCSON DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED Aj SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR
GREEN VALLEY AND SAHUARITA IN SOUTHEAST PIMA COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE
WEST AT 10 MPH.
 
WJM/CC

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.

NWS Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jul 8, 8:49 PM MST, 3 hours 36 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 8, 8:49 PM MST, 3 hours 36 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
845 PM MST MON JUL 8 1996

VERY INTERESTING LSRTUS TO READ...DECENT TUS STORM THIS AFTN.
THINGS BECOMING MUCH MORE QUIET...BUT SCT TO WDLY SCT ACTIVITY
CONTS...ESPECIALLY ZN026 (MOSTLY RW/RW-). STILL...LOOKING AT
CURRENT RAINFALL ESTIMATES WE SHUD BE OKAY IN DROPPING FLASH
FLOOD WATCH AROUND 9 PM...ALTHOUGH IT SERVED US WELL TDA. 1ST PD
MODIFICATIONS TO SHOW DECRG ACTIVITY WITH ZNS MASSAGED IN THE
SAME DIRECTIONS TO DIFFERENT DEGREES.

TMW LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER FINE DAY. LOW SPINS OFF BAJA WITH HIGH TO
THE EAST KEEPS DECENT SLY FLOW. 24HR ETA TUS FCST SOUNDING AGN
VERY RESPECTABLE (SIMILAR VALS TO LAST NIGHTS FCST FOR THIS
AFTN...PANNED OUT PRETTY WELL). ETA BRINGS UP IMPL FM S TMW INTO
S CNTRL PTNS...THEN INTO CNTRL AZ BY WED. UPR LVL DIFFLUENCE OVR
SERN PTNS TMW AFTN...THEN CNTRL AZ WED. PERHAPS THE FOCUS TO CHG
NWD...SOMETHING TO LOOK AT. I DOUBT WE CALM DOWN VERY MUCH AT ANY
RATE. NO BIG CHGS BESIDES 1ST PD. TUS 2333. MEYER

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 8, 8:46 PM MST, 3 hours 39 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON
845 PM MST MON JUL 8 1996

TIME(MST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

 404 PM    5 SE TUCSON               AZ   82 MPH WIND MEASURED
           PIMA                           AT DAVIS MONTHAN
                                          AIR FORCE BASE

 405 PM    5 S TUCSON                AZ   2 FOOT DIAMETER TREE
           PIMA                           SNAPPED JUST NORTH OF
                                          TUCSON INTERNATIONAL
                                          AIRPORT

 405 PM    5 S TUCSON                AZ   DAMAGED CARGO PLANE
           PIMA                           AT TUCSON INTERNATIONAL
                                          AIRPORT

 APPROX    5 S TUCSON                AZ   ROOF BLOWN OFF HANGER
 410 PM    PIMA                           AT TUCSON INTERNATIONAL
                                          AIRPORT.  THREE AIRCRAFT
                                          DAMAGED

 APPROX    TUCSON                    AZ   TRAILER PARK DAMAGED
 415 PM    PIMA                           ROOFS BLOWN OFF TRAILERS
                                          AND WINDOWS BLOWN OUT

 415 PM    6 SE TUCSON               AZ   66 MPH WIND MEASURED
           PIMA                           BY SPOTTER

 415 PM    5 S TUCSON                AZ   1 FOOT DIAMETER TREE
           PIMA                           SNAPPED NEAR TUCSON
                                          INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

 415 PM    5 S TUCSON                AZ   2 FOOT DIAMETER TREE
           PIMA                           UPROOTED NEAR TUCSON
                                          INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

 420 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   STREET FLOODING
           PIMA                           SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST
                                          TUCSON.  WATER 2 FEET
                                          DEEP WITH CARS STRANDED

 400 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   FLASH FLOODING
-530 PM    PIMA                           SOUTHEAST TUCSON.
                                          WATER DEPTH 6 INCHES
                                          TO 2 FEET

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 8, 5:39 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise66 min
Jul 8, 5:39 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise66 min
Jul 8, 6:03 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPinal57 min
Jul 8, 6:03 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPinal57 min
Jul 8, 7:01 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPinal59 min
Jul 9, 12:25 AM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima50 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.