Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 47, NWS Flagstaff, AZ

September 25, 1997Yavapai County, Arizona

NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Sep 25, 1997, 9:01 PM MST for Yavapai County, Arizona. It was in force for 119 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 25, 1997, 9:01 PM MST (04:01 UTC)
Expired
Sep 25, 1997, 11:00 PM MST
In force
119 min
Issued by
NWS Flagstaff, AZ
Area
Whole counties

County Yavapai County, AZ

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 124 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:03 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

Flgstf/Belemont, AZ (KFGZ), launched 00:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 98 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, Flgstf/Belemont, AZ at 00:00Z on 1997-09-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 64 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Flgstf/Belemont, AZ at 00:00Z on 1997-09-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 180 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
64 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1109 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
180 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
303 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 260401
FFWFLG
AZC025-260600-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
901 PM MST THU SEP 25 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FLAGSTAFF AZ HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1100 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN CENTRAL ARIZONA

   ...WESTERN YAVAPAI COUNTY
 
AT 900 PM MST DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VRY HEAVY RAIN CONTINUING
OVER WESTERN YAVAPAI COUNTY...MAINLY WEST OF PRESCOTT.  ALSO...A
SPOTTER IN THE TOWN OF BAGDAD REPORTED FOUR AND A HALF INCHES OF
RAIN SINCE LATE AFTERNOON.  GULLEYS AND WASHES HAVE FILLED AND
ARE FLOWING RAPIDLY.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS STREAMS AND WASHES...AND DON'T DRIVE INTO
AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD!
 
RESIDENTS OF WESTERN YAVAPAI COUNTY SHOULD USE CAUTION WHILE
TRAVELING TONIGHT...AS SOME SECONDARY ROADS AND LOW-LYING AREAS
MAY BE COVERED BY FLOODWATERS.

&

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 25, 2:38 PM MST, 6 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 25, 2:38 PM MST, 6 hours 23 minutes before
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
230 PM MST THU SEP 25 1997

CNTR OF NORA PSHNG INTO SWRN AZ ATTM JST E OF YUM AND CONTS TO MOVE
NNE AT ABT 20-25 MPH.  LOCAL 88DS NOW SHW HVST RNS ACRS MCH OF SWRN
AND S CNTRL AZ WTH RNS SPRDNG ACRS WRN AZ INCLUDING YAV CNTY.  SAT
TRNDS AND CRRNT NHC FCSTS SUGGEST TRCK TO TK CNTR JST W OF PHX LTR
THIS AFTN...TO NEAR FLG BY MDNGT THEN INTO SRN UT TOMORROW AM.  THIS
PRTTY MCH AS ERLYR ANTICIPATED THO MAYBE A BIT FRTHR E.  PER THE SLGT
FRTHR E TRCK...WILL ADD ZNS 9 AND 12 TO THE FFA FOR TNGT.  AM A BIT
CNCRND ABT LCK OF REAL IMPRSV AMNTS UPSTRM BUT AM COUNTING ON GUD
TERRAIN ENHNCMNT ONC MAIN PRECIP REACHES OUR AREA.  FEEL IT WUD BE A
MSTK TO STRT BCKNG OFF UNTIL WE ARE SURE THE THRT IS OVR. MAIN FOCUS
RMNS ON WRN...CNTRL AND NRN SCTNS BUT WILL CLSLY MONITOR SPRD OF
PRECIP TO DETERMINE IF WTCHS NEED TO BE XTND FRTHR E AND NE TNGT.
FOR NOW...EVRYTHNG APPRS IN PLC WTH MAIN FOCUS ON THE SHRT TRM.  XPCT
HVYR RNS TO CONT SPRDNG NNEWRD ACRSS SWRN AND WRN SCTNS OF OUR CWA
THIS AFTN...CNTRL AND ERN SCTNS LTR THIS AFTN AND EVNTLY INTO THE N
AND NE LTR THIS EVE OR TNGT.  WNDW OF HVYST RN STILL LUKS TO BE LT
AFTN THRU ERLY TOMORROW AM FOR THE MAIN THRT AREAS WITH LTST MODELS
SHWNG BULLEYE UVV NR FLG BY 06Z TNGT.

ACTVTY SHUD BGN TO WIND DWN FRM THE SW TO THE NE TOMORROW AS RMNTS
BGN TO LFT NE OUT OF OUR AREA.  FLY IN THE OINTMENT THO IS A SCNDRY
SHRT WV PCKD UP BY ALL THE MODELS TO MV FRM SERN CA TOMORROW EVE ACRS
CNTRL AZ TOMORROW NGT.  ETA IS QCKST WTH THIS SYS AND PLCS IT OVR
ERN/SERN AZ BY SAT AM WTH THE AVN SLWST IN PLCNG IT OVR SWRN AZ BY
THIS TM. ETA DRST WTH 70H RH SHWNG SM LNGRNG MOISTURE FAR NE WHL AVN
A LTTL MORE GNRS AND SHWS DCNT 70H RH FRM NERN AZ WSWRD ACRS N CNTRL
AND WRN AZ INTO ERN CA.  THIS MAY BE OVRDN BUT FEEL SM MOISTURE MAY
LNGR INTO SAT ALL THNGS CONSIDERED.  THUS...HAVE DCD TO SLW DWN THE
IMPRVMNT AND WILL KP CLDS AND CHNC SHWRS NE THRU SAT.  AREAS FRTHR S
AND W WILL KP CLDS AND ISOLD POPS AT LEAST ERLY ON WTH QCKST IMPRVMNT
XPCTD FAR WRN ZNS.

WNDS NOT XPCTD TO BE A BIG CNCRN UP HERE TNGT THO STILL BELIEVE SERLY
WNDS MAY RCH WNDY LVLS SOME OF THE HGHR LOCTNS TNGT.  ATTM...DO NOT
BELIEVE WND WTCHS OR ADVSRYS WILL BE NEEDED FOR OUR CWA.

FLG 9732 INW 7620
FLG...FFA ZNS 04>09...12...15...16...18...TNGT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 25, 7:01 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZYavapai119 min
Sep 25, 8:15 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZCoconino4 hr
Sep 25, 8:16 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZCoconino4 hr
Sep 25, 11:57 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZCoconino2 hr
Sep 26, 2:52 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZYavapai3 hr
Sep 26, 5:54 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZYavapai2 hr
Sep 26, 8:21 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZYavapai119 min
Sep 26, 10:32 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZYavapai88 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 1997Every 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.