Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 45, NWS Tucson, AZ

July 24, 1996Cochise County, Graham County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 24, 1996, 6:44 PM MST for Cochise County, Graham County, Arizona. It was in force for 61 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 24, 1996, 6:44 PM MST (01:44 UTC)
Expired: Jul 24, 1996, 7:45 PM MST
In force: 61 min
Issued by: NWS Tucson, AZ
Area: Whole counties

Counties Cochise County, AZ, Graham County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:47 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 24, 6:50 PM MST	Thunderstorm Wind 52	Willcox, 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 00:00Z, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 105 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1735 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -43 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 3024 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 7 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 250142
SVRTUS
AZC009-003-250245-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
644 PM MST WED JUL 24 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON ARIZONA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST ARIZONA
 
   ...SOUTHERN GRAHAM COUNTY
 
IN SOUTHEAST ARIZONA
 
   ...NORTHERN COCHISE COUNTY
 
AT 640 PM TUCSON DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
12 MILES NORTH OF WILLCOX.
 
THIS STORM WAS MOVING TOWARDS THE SOUTH AT 15 MPH AND WILL MOVE
ACROSS I-10 AND THE WILLCOX AREA BETWEEN 700 PM AND 730 PM.
 
THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN EXCESS
OF 57 MPH...HAIL...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. PERSONS IN THE PATH OF
THIS STORM SHOULD TAKE SHELTER WHEN IT APPROACHES.
 
COLLINS

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 24, 2:21 PM MST, 4 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 24, 2:21 PM MST, 4 hours 23 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
220 PM MST WED JUL 24 1996

TRW- ACTVTY STARTG UP AGN TDY ACRS SAME LCTNS PAST 2 DYS. OUTFLO
BNDRY FM LAST NGTS OK PNHNDL MCS HAS PRETTY MUCH WASHED OUT IN
NM. SHULDN'T HV MUCH EFFECT ON ERN STORMS TNGT.

UPR HI CNTRD BTWN FLG/TUS EDGED SLIGHTLY E OVR THE PAST 24 HRS
WITH NLY FLO ACRS ERN ZNS AND ELY FLO ACRS NRN MEX. THESE AREAS
AGN WL SEE TRW- ACTVTY TNGT WITH MAIN THREAT FM STORMS BEING
LCLZD HVY RNFL..WITH PW VALUES JUST ABV ONE INCH..AND STG GUSTY
WNDS. DRY NWLY SFC FLO ACRS ZNS21>23 WL KP ANY TSTMS FM DVLPG
TDY EVEN THOUGH AMS UNSTBL AS DWPTS CONT TO DROP INTO UPR 40S/LOW
50S.

UPR HI MEANDERING ACRS E-CNThRL AZ INTO FRI WITH PSBL MVMNT TWD
4 CORNERS FRI NGT. MAIN MONSOON AXIS WL CONT ACRS ERN ZNS WHERE
I WL KP HIEST POPS..ESPLY ZN26. MAY SEE TRW- ACRS ZN23 FRI BUT
WL KP POPS AT SLGT CHC. OTRW LOW GRADE MONSOON CONTS. TUS 1-12.
GLUECK

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 25, 12:19 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Cochise	41 min
Jul 25, 1:05 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pinal	40 min
Jul 25, 1:26 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Cochise	64 min
Jul 25, 2:10 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima, Santa Cruz	65 min
Jul 25, 2:15 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	60 min
Jul 25, 2:45 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	TWC	Pima	60 min
Jul 25, 3:15 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	60 min
Jul 25, 3:52 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	68 min
Jul 25, 4:02 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	TWC	Pima	58 min
Jul 25, 4:46 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pinal	59 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 1996 Every 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.