Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 72, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 14, 1996Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 14, 1996, 4:18 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 57 min. 5 reports 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: Aug 14, 1996, 4:18 PM MST (23:18 UTC)
Expired: Aug 14, 1996, 5:15 PM MST
In force: 57 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 23:18 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
Aug 14, 4:25 PM MST	Hail 1	Vail, AZ
Aug 14, 4:45 PM MST	Thunderstorm Wind 61	Tucson, AZ
Aug 14, 5:00 PM MST	Hail 0.75	Tucson, AZ
Aug 14, 5:06 PM MST	Hail 0.75	Eastern Tucson, AZ
Aug 14, 5:10 PM MST	Tornado F0	Tucson, 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, 11.3 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-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: 1509 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -133 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1432 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 111 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 142317
SVRTUS
AZC019-150015-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
418 PM MST WED AUG 14 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON ARIZONA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  515 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
 
   ...EASTERN PIMA COUNTY INCLUDING EASTERN TUCSON...
 
AT 415 PM TUCSON DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM EXTENDING
FROM THE CATALINAS TO FAR EASTERN TUCSON TO VAIL. THIS STORM WAS MOVING
TO THE WEST AT 10 MPH. EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE TUCSON METRO AREA AS WELL
AS INTERSTATE-10 SOUTHEAST OF TUCSON WILL BE AFFECTED.
 
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.
 
 
MCCOLLUM

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 Aug 14, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 14, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 48 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
220 PM MST WED AUG 14 1996

SPECIAL 19Z TUS SOUNDG CONFIRMS SVR POTENTIAL FOR TDA/TGNT.
LOADED GUN TYPE WITH WELL MIXED LOW LVL MSTR AND CAP AT 800 MB.
CONVECTIVE TEMP ARND 99-100...WITH CLEAR SKIES SHLD BE ABLE TO
REACH THIS. STEERING WINDS AT H5/H4 ELY 10-15 KTS TO HELP PUSH MT
TSTMS INTO THE VALLEYS.  NWLY WINDS AT UPR LVLS PUSHG ANVILS OFF
TO SE.  BEEFED UP POPS AND MENTIONED PSLB SVR LVLS TGNT.
THU/FRI...MODELS DRIFT UPR HI ARND NRN AZ THRU FCST PD...SO LTL
CHG IN BIG SCALE FEATURES.  WILL KEEP SCT IN ERN...AND WDLY SCT
IN WRN ZNS BOTH DAYS.  TEMPS WILL BE DIFFICULT TGNT AND THU.  IF
WE GET A PERSISTENT CLD SHXIELD LASTING OVRNGT INTO THE MRNG MAX
TEMPS MAY BE WAY DOWN.  SWING SHIFT MAY NEED TO ADJUST SOME
TEMPS. TUS  4232

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 14, 2:29 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Santa Cruz	61 min
Aug 14, 3:32 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima, Santa Cruz	58 min
Aug 14, 4:36 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	69 min
Aug 14, 4:43 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	62 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.