Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 12, NWS Tucson, AZ

July 5, 1996Pima County, Santa Cruz County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 5, 1996, 2:38 PM MST for Pima County, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. It was in force for 67 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 5, 1996, 2:38 PM MST (21:38 UTC)
Expired
Jul 5, 1996, 3:45 PM MST
In force
67 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Whole counties

Counties Pima County, AZ, Santa Cruz County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 66 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:41 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 5, 2:40 PM MSTThunderstorm Wind 50Arivaca, AZ

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 56 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 1996-07-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 617 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 1996-07-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -9 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
617 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-201 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2123 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-9 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
14 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 5, 2:23 PM MST, 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 5, 2:23 PM MST, 15 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
220 PM MST FRI JUL 5 1996

SAT...H5 HI MOVS BACK TO 4 CORNERS AREA WITH E-SELY WINDS OVR
AREA. NGM NOT BLDG HI AS STG AS ETA. H7 HI NR TUS WITH LGT NLY
WINDS. MEAN RH 40-50 PCT AND SEE NO BIG CHG IN LOW LVL MSTR.
MOS DEW PTS AND POPS SIMILAR TO TDA. ETA KEEPS BIG CAPES S OF
BORDER...WITH LESS THAN 1000 ACRS CWA. SO WILL KEEP CURRENT
POPS.  SUN...AVN KEEPS UPR HI NR 4 CORNERS dWITH ELY WINDS AND
MEAN RH 30 PCT.  MOS TRENDG FOR SLGHTLY LWR POPS.  WILL KEEP
SCT-WDLY SCT TSTMS ACRS CWA.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 4, 5:07 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise, Santa Cruz53 min
Jul 5, 1:28 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCSanta Cruz47 min
Jul 5, 3:45 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima60 min
Jul 5, 3:56 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise49 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 1996Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.