Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 82, NWS Tucson, AZ

September 1, 1996Pima County, Pinal County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Sep 1, 1996, 11:17 PM MST for Pima County, Pinal County, Arizona. It was in force for 43 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 1, 1996, 11:17 PM MST (06:17 UTC)
Expired
Sep 2, 1996, 12:00 AM MST
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Whole counties

Counties Pima County, AZ, Pinal County, AZ

The nearest sounding before it

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 00:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 73 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 1996-09-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 998 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 1996-09-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 28 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
998 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2493 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
4 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
66 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 020618
FFWTUS
AZC019-021-020700-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
1117 PM MST SUN SEP 1 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON ARIZONA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
 
   ...EASTERN PIMA COUNTY...SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY
 
AT 11 PM DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WITH
VERY HEAVY RAINFALL 5 MILES NORTH OF MARANA IN PINAL COUNTY.
THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL WAS EAST OF I-10. RADAR HAS ESTIMATED
RAINFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES IN THIS AREA. THE THUNDERSTORMS
OVER TUCSON HAVE WEAKENED...THOUGH SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
MIDNIGHT.  REPORTS HAVE INDICATED ALMOST FIVE FEET OF WATER
FLOWING IN PANTANO WASH NEAR VAIL.  OTHER NORMALLY DRY WASHES
ARE LIKELY RUNNING RAPIDLY.
 
MOST DEATHS IN FLASH FLOODING OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW S*POTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A
SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.

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 Sep 1, 8:54 PM MST, 2 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 1, 8:54 PM MST, 2 hours 23 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
900 PM MST SUN SEP 1 1996

BUSY TGNT...MADE FISSRT PD CHGS. REST OF FCST OK.
SFC DEW PTS STILL IN 60S ACRS CWA.  TSTMS ON RIM MOVD
INTO VALLEYS.  TSTMS THIS AFTN HAVE BEEN SLO MOVERS AND HEAVY
RAINERS. MODELS PUSH UPR HI OVR SRN CA EWD INTO SRN NM WITH WK
VORT MAXES MOVG ACRS NRN AZ. LOW-LVL MSTR CONTG TO HANG ARND THRU
TUE SO CONTD THREAT OF AFTN/EVE ISOLD TO WDLY SCT TRW.
@TUS 5121.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 1, 6:06 PM MST, 5 hours 11 minutes before
AZZ026-020115-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
605 PM MST SUN SEP 1 1996

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING CONTINUES FOR EASTCENTRAL COCHISE COUNTY
UNTIL 615 PM...

AT 555 PM TUCSON DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED SHOW A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5
MILES SOUTHEAST OF BENSON. THIS STORM HAS REMAINED NEARLY STATIONARY
SINCE 530 PM AND IS PRODUCNG EXTREMELY HEAVY RAIN AND CONTINUOUS
CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING AS WELL AS WINDS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH.

THIS STORM IS ALSO PRODUCING EXTREMELY HEAVY RAIN WITH RADAR RAINFALL
ESTIMATES OF 1.0 TO 2.0 INCHES IN LESS THAN AN HOUR. TRAVEL ALONG I-10
EAST OF BENSON AND HIGHWAY 80 NEAR ST. DAVID SHOULD BE AVOIDED UNTIL
THIS STORM4 HAS DISSIPATED.

MCCOLLUM

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 1, 5:12 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise63 min
Sep 1, 6:21 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise54 min
Sep 1, 7:01 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise59 min
Sep 1, 7:22 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise2 hr
Sep 1, 9:10 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima, Pinal2 hr

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.