Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 24, NWS Tucson, AZ

July 14, 1996Graham County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Jul 14, 1996, 3:56 PM MST for Graham County, Arizona. It was in force for 2 hr. 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 14, 1996, 3:56 PM MST (22:56 UTC)
Expired
Jul 14, 1996, 6:00 PM MST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Whole counties

County Graham County, AZ

The nearest sounding before it

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 127 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 1996-07-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 226 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 1996-07-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -6 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
226 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-144 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1546 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
81 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 142255
FFWTUS
AZC009-150100-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
356 PM MST SUN JUL 14 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON ARIZONA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN EAST ARIZONA
 
   ...CENTRAL GRAHAM COUNTY
 
AT 350 PM TUCSON DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WAS
OCCURING JUST EAST OF SOLOMON MOVING TOWARDS SOLOMON AND SAFFORD.
RADAR INDICATES UP TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN FROM THIS
STORM IN THE PAST HOUR.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TOb CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON FOOT.  TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
COLLINS

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 14, 2:21 PM MST, 1 hour 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 14, 2:21 PM MST, 1 hour 35 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
220 PM MST SUN JUL 14 1996

EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER ACROSS SE AZ HAS INHIBITED CONVECTIVE
DEVELOPMENT SO FAR THIS AFTERNOON. HOWEVER SATELLITE PICTURES
SHOW CLEARING TAKING PLACE OVER THE EASTERN AND NORTHERN ZONES
SLOWLY WORKING WESTWARD. AIR MASS REMAINS VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE
SO IT WONT TAKE MUCH HEATING TO KICK TSTMS OFF. BEST BET FOR THIS
EVENING WILL BE THE NRN AND ERN ZONES 22...24>26. WITH LIGHT FLOW
ALOFT STORMS WILL BE SLOW MOVERS AND WITH HIGH PW VALUES SOME OF
THESE STORMS WILL DUMP HEAVY AMOUNTS OF RAIN AND WITH THE GROUND
ALREADY SATURATED IN SOME LOCATIONS FLASH FLOODING REMAINS
FAVORABLE. THEREFORE FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN POSTED FOR ERN
ZONES 23>26 UNTIL MIDNIGHT. LOOKS LIKE OUR AIR MASS WILL CONTINUE
TO BE MOIST AND UNSTABLE AT LEAST FOR THE NEXT 5 DAYS AS MOONSOON
PATTERN SHOWS NO SIGN OF ABATING. NGM TRIES TO DRY OUT OUR FAR
WRN ZONES TUE AS PAC NW UPR TROF MOVS UPR HIGH CENTER INTO CNTRL
TX WITH DRIER SWLY FLOW WORKING INTO ZN21 BUT ETA/AVN WEAKER WITH
THIS TROF THEREFORE UPR HIGH IS NOT PUSHED AS FAR EWD AND FAR WRN
ZONES SHOW NO DRYING. BEST BET TO GO WITH PERSISTANCE UNTIL
PICTURE BECOMES MORE CLEAR. COLLINS

TUS...FLASH FLOOD WATCH ZONES 23>26 UNTIL MIDNIGHT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 13, 6:22 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise2 hr
Jul 13, 7:15 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima, Pinal60 min
Jul 13, 8:19 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima, Pinal116 min
Jul 14, 2:37 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCGreenlee2 hr
Jul 14, 2:50 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCGraham40 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.