Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 42, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 2, 1996Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 2, 1996, 12:30 AM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 60 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 2, 1996, 12:30 AM MST (07:30 UTC)
Expired
Aug 2, 1996, 1:30 AM MST
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Whole counties

County Pima County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 112 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:32 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, 7.5 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 1996-08-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 202 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 1996-08-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 10 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
202 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-71 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2698 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
1 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
107 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 020734
FFWTUS
AZC019-020830-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
1230 AM MST FRI AUG 2 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON ARIZONA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  130 AM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
 
   ...EAST CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY
 
AT 1230 AM TUCSON DOPPLER RADAR AND AUTOMATED RAIN GAGES CONTINUED TO
INDICATE EXTREMELY HEAVY RAINFALL IN AN AREA FROM OLD TUCSON 10 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF TUCSON ALONG HWY 86 THROUGH THREE POINTS TO AN AREA ABOUT
15 MILES NORTHEAST OF SELLS. THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR THE AREA
SOUTHWEST OF TUCSON CONTINUES AND HAS BEEN EXPANDED INTO THE FAR EASTERN
PORTION OF THE TOHONO OODHAM NATION ABOUT 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF SELLS.
 
MEYER

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 Aug 1, 8:52 PM MST, 3 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 1, 8:52 PM MST, 3 hours 38 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
900 PM MST THU AUG 01 1996

00Z TUS SOUNDG ON THE STABLE SIDE AND NO SVR WX IN CWA SO FAR
TNGT. THOUGH...SOME HEAVY RAINERS GENERATED BY OUTFLOW FRM THE
RIM. ANOTHER LINE OF TSTMS IN NW MEX MOVG OVR THE SRN GLF AREA.
DOUGLAS STILL ON A NWWD TRACK WITH MID-UPR LVL MSTR SPREADG AS
FAR N AS ABOUT 25N. FRI...PAC TROF PUSHES UPR HI SE OF TUS WITH
SLY WIND AT MID-UPR LVLS.  MODELS SHOW WK UPR LOW ALONG SRN ZNS
MOVG WWD AROUND BOTTOM OF HI.  CURRENT FCST BETTING ON GLF SURGE
MSTR TO MAKE IT INTO AREA FRI/FRI NGT.  WITH LESS CLDS...MORE HTG
AND DEFORMATION ZONE OVR SRN AZ SHOULD SEE MORE CONVECTIVE
ACTVTY. SAT...NEW ETA CONTINUING TREND OF PAC TROF PUSHG UPR HI
INTO SE NM. MID LVL FLOW S-SWLY. AVN SHOWG MINOR DECR IN
MSTR...BUT NOT SIGNIFICANT. WILL GO WITH STANDARD LOW GRADE
MONSOON. TUS 2242.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 1, 11:30 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima60 min
Aug 2, 12:30 AM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima60 min
Aug 2, 2:55 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise65 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.