Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 52, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 14, 1996Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 14, 1996, 7:25 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 95 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 14, 1996, 7:25 PM MST (02:25 UTC)
Expired
Aug 14, 1996, 9:00 PM MST
In force
95 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 02:28 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, 2.4 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 1996-08-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1143 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 1996-08-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 26 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
1143 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2818 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
135 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KTUS 150227
FFWTUS
AZC019-150330-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
725 PM MST WED AUG 14 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON ARIZONA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
 
   ...WESTERN PIMA COUNTY
 
AT 722 PM TUCSON DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
ABOUT 25 MILES EAST OF AJO IN WESTERN PIMA COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE
WEST AT 15 TO 20 MPH. TOWNS EXPECTED TO BE AFFECTED BY THESE STORMS
INCLUDE WHY AND AJO.
 
EXPECT DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND VERY AHEAVY
RAIN WITH THESE STORMS.
 
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 14, 2:30 PM MST, 4 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 14, 2:30 PM MST, 4 hours 55 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
220 PM MST WED AUG 14 1996

SPECIAL 19Z TUS SOUNDG CONFIRMS SVR POTENTIAL FOR TDA/TGNT.
LOADED GUN TYPE WITH WELL MIXED LOW LVL MSTR AND CAP AT 800 MB.
CONVECTIVE TEMP ARND 99-100...WITH CLEAR SKIES SHLD BE ABLE TO
REACH THIS. STEERING WINDS AT H5/H4 ELY 10-15 KTS TO HELP PUSH MT
TSTMS INTO THE VALLEYS.  NWLY WINDS AT UPR LVLS PUSHG ANVILS OFF
TO SE.  BEEFED UP POPS AND MENTIONED PSLB SVR LVLS TGNT.
THU/FRI...MODELS DRIFT UPR HI ARND NRN AZ THRU FCST PD...SO LTL
CHG IN BIG SCALE FEATURES.  WILL KEEP SCT IN ERN...AND WDLY SCT
IN WRN ZNS BOTH DAYS.  TEMPS WILL BE DIFFICULT TGNT AND THU.  IF
WE GET A PERSISTENT CLD SHXIELD LASTING OVRNGT INTO THE MRNG MAX
TEMPS MAY BE WAY DOWN.  SWING SHIFT MAY NEED TO ADJUST SOME
TEMPS. TUS  4232

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 14, 5:09 PM MSTTornado WarningTWCPima36 min
Aug 14, 5:17 PM MSTTornado WarningTWCPima28 min
Aug 14, 5:20 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima115 min
Aug 14, 5:31 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima59 min
Aug 14, 5:44 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPinal61 min
Aug 14, 6:20 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima, Pinal55 min
Aug 14, 6:36 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima, Pinal69 min
Aug 14, 7:00 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima, Pinal45 min
Aug 14, 7:00 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima, Pinal45 min
Aug 14, 7:25 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima95 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.