Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997
Flash Flood Warning 54, NWS Flagstaff, AZ
NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Oct 2, 1997, 7:59 PM MST for Coconino County, Arizona. It was in force for 116 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
- Oct 2, 1997, 7:59 PM MST (02:59 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 2, 1997, 9:55 PM MST
- In force
- 116 min
- Issued by
- NWS Flagstaff, AZ
- Area
- Whole counties
County Coconino County, AZ
The radar
The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 150 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:58 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, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 68 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 420 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -6 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1305 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 25 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 79 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 244 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 0.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFLG 030259 FFWFLG AZC005-030455- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 759 PM MST THU OCT 2 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FLAGSTAFF AZ HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 955 PM MST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTH CENTRAL ARIZONA ...NORTHWESTERN COCONINO COUNTY AT 755 PM MST...DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHWESTERN COCONINO COUNTY PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER HUALAPAI AND HAVASUPAI RESERVATIONS. RADAR HAS ESTIMATED RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO AN INCH AND A HALF PER HOUR WITH THESE STORMS. WASHES AND CREEKS FEEDING INTO THE WESTERN GRAND CANYON INCLUDING THOSE NEAR THE VILLAGE OF SUPAI WILL FILL WITH RUNOFF WITHIN THE NEXT TWO HOURS AND FLASH FLOODING IS POSSIBLE. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY. MOVE UPHILL TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.
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 Oct 2, 2:24 PM MST, 5 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 2, 2:24 PM MST, 5 hours 35 minutes before
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 220 PM MST THU OCT 2 1997 NWR SYNOPSIS...A STRONG TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE CONTINUES TO PUSH INTO THE GREAT BASIN. THE TRAILING EDGE OF THIS TROUGH WILL ENTER NORTHWEST AZ THIS EVENING AND EXIT NORTHEAST AZ ON FRIDAY. AHEAD OF THE TROUGH...GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS AND SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT OVER MOST OF NORTHERN ARIZONA. AS THE TROUGH MOVES CLOSER TO THE STATE THIS EVENING...SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME QUITE STRONG AND PRODUCE VERY GUSTY WINDS. THE SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL TAPER OFF FROM WEST TO EAST LATE TONIGHT AND FRIDAY AS DRIER AIR FILTERS INTO THE REGION. DISCUSSION...IF THUNDERSTORMS GET GOING TONIGHT...COULD HAVE SOME VERY STRONG STORMS DUE TO DECENT VERTICAL AND SPEED SHEAR CAUSED BY THE APPROACHING TROUGH. ALREADY SOME VERY IMPRESSIVE STORMS JUST ACROSS THE BORDER IN UTAH. QUESTION IS HOW LONG GOOD THERMODYNAMIC SUPPORT WILL REMAIN IN PLACE...ESPECIALLY FOR SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA. ANOTHER THING IS SYNOPTIC WINDS AHEAD OF THIS TROUGH ALREADY ARE QUITE STRONG...GUSTS TO 37 MPH AT IGM ALREADY...WONT TAKE MUCH OUTFLOW FROM STORMS TO REACH SEVERE LIMITS. OTHERWISE...PASSAGE OF THE TROUGH SHOULD SERVE TO END PRECIP FROM WEST TO EAST TONIGHT AND FRIDAY WITH ONLY LINGERING ACTIVITY EXPECTED IN THE FAR NORTHEAST ZONES BY TOMORROW EVENING. SATURDAY LOOKS VERY DRY PER 12Z AVN H7-H5 RH PROGS...FLAT RIDGE OVER THE AREA AND FAST ZONAL FLOW OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. WITH LOW LEVEL RH LAST TO EXIT...WILL GO PARTLY CLOUDY OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN...MOSTLY SUNNY ELSEWHERE. LITTLE CHANGE IN MAX TEMPS THROUGH THE PERIOD AS RIDGING QUICKLY BUILDS INTO THE REGION. EXPECT MILD MINS TONIGHT...A BIT COOLER FRIDAY NIGHT PER DRIER AIRMASS. FLG 4-00 INW 3100 PASSETTI FLG...NONE.
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.