Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 2, NWS Tucson, AZ

June 21, 1996Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 21, 1996, 12:45 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 45 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
Jun 21, 1996, 12:45 PM MST (19:45 UTC)
Expired
Jun 21, 1996, 1:30 PM MST
In force
45 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 19:39 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 12:00Z, 7.8 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 12:00Z on 1996-06-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 187 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 1996-06-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 16 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
187 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-374 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2910 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
85 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 211945
SVRTUS
AZC019-212030-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
1245 PM MST FRI JUN 21 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON ARIZONA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  130 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
 
   ...NORTHEASTERN PIMA COUNTY
 
AT 1246 PM TUCSON DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM HAS
DEVELOPED RAPIDLY 5 MILES EAST OF VAIL AND JUST NORTH OF INTERSTATE
10.  VAIL IS ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF TUCSON.
 
THIS STORM IS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH AND IS CAPABLE OF
WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND HAIL.
 
SAGUARO NATIONAL MONUMENT...COLOSSAL CAVE AND THE RINCON
MOUNTAINS ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM.
 
DRB/WJM
 
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A
STRONG BUILDING.  DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

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 Jun 21, 9:26 AM MST, 3 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 21, 9:26 AM MST, 3 hours 19 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
915 AM MST FRI JUN 21 1996

LAN PROBLEMS THIS MORNING WITH NO GRIDDED DATA AVAILABLE LOCALLY.
MAIN AREA OF MSTR SHIFTING EWD AS HIGH CONTS TO SHIFT EWD. 12Z TUS
SOUNDING LESS STABLE THEN YDA WITH CAP AT H5 ERODED...PW JUST UNDER
1 INCH. 3 WRN ZNS (21>23) STARTING TO GET ALOT MORE SUN...WITH ERN
ZNS STILL WITH CONSIDERABLE CLDS. CHC OF WDLY SCT RW-/TRW- SHUD COVER
THINGS NICELY TDA...THIS AFTN FOR 1ST 3 ZNS. INCRG COVERAGE TNGT ERN
PTNS STILL LOOKS OKAY...BUT WILL BE EVALUATED CAREFULLY FOR AFTN
PACKAGE. MSTR CONTG TO STREAM UP WITH FETCH DISTANT S. SLOW MOVG ALMA
NO IMMEDIATE IMPACT...BUT SOMETHING TO WATCH. BREEZY TDA AhND BREEZY
TO LCLY WNDY WITH STGR GRAD TMW SHUD SUFFICE FOR DOWN HERE...WNDS
MORE OF A FACTOR NRN PTNS. DRYER SWLY FLOW AS HIGH / MSTR SHIFTS EWD
AND TROF MOVES INTO BASIN FOR THE WEEKEND. NO BIG CHGS. TUS 232.
MEYER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 21, 1:50 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCGraham60 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.