Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 90, NWS Tucson, AZ

September 3, 1996Pima County, Pinal County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Sep 3, 1996, 10:55 PM MST for Pima County, Pinal 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
Sep 3, 1996, 10:55 PM MST (05:55 UTC)
Expired
Sep 4, 1996, 1:00 AM MST
In force
2 hr
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, 5.9 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 1996-09-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 181 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 1996-09-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 11 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
181 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-150 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1988 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
52 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 040553
FFWTUS
AZC019-021-040800-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
1055 PM MST TUE SEP 3 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON ARIZONA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  100 AM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
 
   ...EASTERN PIMA COUNTY...EASTERN  PINAL COUNTY
 
AT 1050 PM DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER EASTERN PINAL AND EASTERN
PIMA COUNTIES. THE STORMS EXTENDED FROM NEAR PICACHO
THROUGH TUCSON. THIS STORM WERE MOVING TO THE SOUTHWEST
AT 15 MPH.
 
BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE
THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.  IF FLASH FLOODING IS
OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY.  MOVE UP TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS.  DO
NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

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 3, 8:54 PM MST, 2 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 3, 8:54 PM MST, 2 hours 1 minute before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
900 PM MST TUE SEP 3 1996

LOTS OF MSTR IN WRN PIMA COUNTY EVIDENCED BY THE LARGE CU FIELD
THERE THIS AFTN.  SEA BREEZE TYPE FLOW MOVG EWD THRU CU FIELD
AND ENHANCED TSTM DEVELOPMENT. STG TSTMS ALONG MEXICAN BORDER
SHOWED A 70 VIL FROM KYUX. STLT SHOWG STABLE AMS WITH FEW CLDS IN
TUCSON AREA. DID GET A SHORT LIVED, WEAK TSTM OVER THE
RINCONS...INITIATED BY A OUTFLOW BOUNDARY F`ROM TSTMS IN COCHISE
COUNTY. SEE NO LET UP IN TSTMS THRU FCST PD.  STILL SLY WINDS AT
YUMA...AND MSTR FROM TS ELIDA LOOMING IN THE FUTURE.  MADE ONLY
FIRST PD CHGS PER CURRENT WX CONITIONS.

TUS 3333.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 3, 5:01 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCGreenlee59 min
Sep 3, 6:07 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima2 hr
Sep 3, 6:54 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima66 min
Sep 3, 6:54 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima66 min
Sep 3, 10:01 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPinal59 min
Sep 3, 11:20 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima, Pinal55 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.