Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 28, NWS Flagstaff, AZ

August 5, 1997Coconino County, Arizona

NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 5, 1997, 11:42 AM MST for Coconino County, Arizona. It was in force for 63 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
Aug 5, 1997, 11:42 AM MST (18:42 UTC)
Expired
Aug 5, 1997, 12:45 PM MST
In force
63 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 18:45 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 12:00Z, 6.7 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Flgstf/Belemont, AZ at 12:00Z on 1997-08-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 411 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 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 12:00Z on 1997-08-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 49 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 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
411 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-64 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1155 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
64 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 051842 RRA
SVRFLG
AZC005-051945-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
1142 AM MST TUE AUG 5 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FLAGSTAFF AZ HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1245 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

   ...SOUTH CENTRAL COCONINO COUNTY
 
AT 1140 AM MST...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY FLAGSTAFF
DOPPLER RADAR 15 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF FLAGSTAFF..OR OVER
PARKS...MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING AREA INCLUDE...BELLEMONT
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...
DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AN4D VERY HEAVY RAIN.  FOR
YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF
YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.

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 Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 5, 9:15 AM MST, 2 hours 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 5, 9:15 AM MST, 2 hours 27 minutes before
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
900 AM MST TUE AUG 05 1997

SOME MID LEVEL DRYING HAS OCCURRED OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS. APPEARS
THAT DRY AIR SHOULD CONTINUE TO ADVECT INTO THE CWA OVER THE NEXT 12-
24 HOURS OVER THE NEXT HOWEVER STILL QUITE A BIT OF LOW LEVEL
MOISTURE AROUND AND FROM MORNING SOUNDINGS APPEARS LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE
ABOUT THE SAME DEPTH AS YESTERDAY...DESPITE MID LEVEL DRYING. SHOULD
SEE SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ONCE AGAIN. NOTED
SOME CU ALREADY BREAKING OUT AMONG THE PEAKS THIS MORNING.

12Z ETA INDICATING IN THE LONGER TERM SOME PW INCREASE NOTED CREEPING
INTO SOUTHERN AZ. WILL NEED TO SEE WHAT REST OF THE MODEL PACKAGE HAS
TO OFFER.  PACKAGE LOOKING GOOD. PLANNING NO UPDATES.
FLG 634  INW 322
FLG...NONE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 4, 5:02 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZYavapai48 min
Aug 4, 5:30 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZGila90 min
Aug 4, 5:57 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZGila63 min
Aug 4, 5:57 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZGila63 min
Aug 4, 6:46 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZYavapai44 min
Aug 4, 6:57 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZGila33 min
Aug 4, 6:57 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZGila33 min
Aug 4, 7:22 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZCoconino38 min
Aug 4, 7:36 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZYavapai54 min
Aug 4, 7:49 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZGila41 min
Aug 5, 2:16 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZYavapai49 min
Aug 5, 2:45 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZYavapai50 min
Aug 5, 3:20 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZNavajo40 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 1997Every severe thunderstorm 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.