Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 41, NWS Flagstaff, AZ

September 15, 1997Gila County, Arizona

NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Sep 15, 1997, 5:49 PM MST for Gila County, Arizona. It was in force for 61 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: Sep 15, 1997, 5:49 PM MST (00:49 UTC)
Expired: Sep 15, 1997, 6:50 PM MST
In force: 61 min
Issued by: NWS Flagstaff, AZ
Area: Whole counties

County Gila County, AZ

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 93 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:50 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 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 181 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: 657 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -54 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2030 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 2 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 19 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 KFLG 160057 COR
FFWFLG
AZC007-160320-

BULLTIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND FLASH FLOOD WARNING...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
549 PM MST MON SEP 15 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FLAGSTAFF AZ HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 650 PM MST
AND A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 820 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN CENTRAL ARIZONA

   ...NORTHWESTERN GILA COUNTY
 
AT 545 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS
INDICATING A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER
NORTHWEST GILA COUNTY...ABOUT 15 MILES WEST OF PAYSON.  THIS STORM
WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT AROUND 20 MILES AN HOUR...AND WILL MOVE
OVER THE TOWN OF PAYSON  BY 615 PM MST. THIS STORM WAS LIKELY
PRODUCING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH...AND LARGE HAIL.

IN ADDITION...MANY STREAMS AND WASHES IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM
WILL FLOOD DUE TO THE HEAVY RAIN BEING PRODUCED BY THIS STORM.
 
MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY.
NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...
DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. FOR
YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.

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 Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Sep 15, 2:42 PM MST, 3 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 15, 2:42 PM MST, 3 hours 7 minutes before

NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
230 PM MST MON SEP 15 1997

STDY STREAM OF DEEP MOISTR CONTS LFTNG NEWRD ACRS MCH OF OUR CWA.
CLD TOPS CONT TO COOL OVR OUR RGN AND UPSTREAM OVR SRN CA. WK EMBDD
SHRT WVS IN DEEP MOISTR PLUME OVR CNTRL SCTNS OF OUR CWA WTH STRNG
SHRT WV EVDNT IN WV IMGRY OVR S CNTRL NV.  FRLY ORGNZD LINE OF
CONVECTION ATTM FRM NRN AZ NR PGA SSWRD TO NR FLG.  OTHR ACTVTY RTHR
WDSPRD ACRS THE RMNDR OF OUR CWA WTH ANTHR CONCENTRATED AREA FAR ERN
SCTNS.  WV LOOPS SUGGEST MR ACTN LTR THIS AFTN BHND ACTVTY UP N AS
STRNG SHRT WV CLIPS NWRN SCTNS AND THIS SUPPORTED BY COOLING CLD TOPS
UPSTRM OVR SERN CA WHCH ARE LFTNG NEWRD TWRD XTRM SRN NV ATTM.
MODELS ALL SHW DRYNG TO OVRSPRD NWRN SCTNS TNGT BHND SHRT WV CROSSING
NV WTH DEEP MOISTR AXS TO BE DSPLCD MR OVR SRN AND ERN SCTNS NXT TWO
DYS.  TRNDS SUGGEST THIS TO TK PLC RTHR SLWLY THO SO WILL KEEP ACTVTY
GOING INTO THE NGT FAR NW WTH ACTVTY ALL NGT XPCTD FRTHR S AND E.
BST ACTN NXT TWO DYS SRN AND ERN SCTNS BUT WILL STILL KP ISOLD POPS
FAR NW AS LOW MOISTURE WILL BE HRD TO COMPLETELY SCOUR OUT.  KHW

FLG 643  INW 543
FLG...FLASH FLOOD WATCH ZONES 4>8 AND 15...16...18 TIL 04Z.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 15, 5:49 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Gila	61 min
Sep 15, 5:50 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	FGZ	Gila	60 min
Sep 15, 5:50 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Gila	60 min
Sep 15, 6:54 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	FGZ	Gila	61 min
Sep 15, 6:54 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Gila	61 min
Sep 16, 2:25 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino, Yavapai	65 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 1997 Every flash flood warning in 1997

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.