Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 92, NWS Flagstaff, AZ

September 13, 1997Coconino County, Arizona

NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 13, 1997, 4:13 PM MST for Coconino County, Arizona. It was in force for 32 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 13, 1997, 4:13 PM MST (23:13 UTC)
Expired: Sep 13, 1997, 4:45 PM MST
In force: 32 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 23:14 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, 11.2 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-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: 135 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -89 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1145 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 48 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 98 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 132313 RRA
SVRFLG
AZC005-132345-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
413 PM MST SAT SEP 13 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FLAGSTAFF AZ HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 445 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

   ...NORTHERN COCONINO COUNTY
 
AT 408 PM MST...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE INDICATED BY
FLAGSTAFF DOPPLER RADAR 5 MILES WEST OF LEE'S FERRY...OVER THE
VERMILLON CLIFFS TO THE UTAH BORDER. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

PEOPLE IN LEE'S FERRY AND PAGE ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM.
 
IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS AND THESE STORMS APPROACH...MOVE TO A PLACE
OF SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. MOTORISTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR STREET
FLOODING AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN HEAVY RAIN.

CUOCO

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 Sep 13, 2:32 PM MST, 1 hour 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 13, 2:32 PM MST, 1 hour 41 minutes before

NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
230 PM MST SAT SEP 13 1997

STORM BEARING DWN ON US ATTM WTH LOTS OF OTHR ACTVTY SO FAR TDY...
SHRT WV RESPONSIBLE FOR TDY/S ACTVTY CLRY EVDNT ON WV IMGRY AND WAS
INITIALIZED BY ALL THE MODELS.  DISTURBANCE PROGGED TO LFT NEWRD OUT
OF THE ST TNGT AND WUD XPCT SM SUBSIDENCE IN IT/S WAKE TO OVRSPRD OUR
RGN LTR TNGT AND TOMORROW.  HWEVR...ETA PROGS ANTHR SYS ROTATING ARND
UPPR RDG TO OUR E TO BE LFTNG NWRD NR YUMA BY TOMORROW EVE.
UNFORTUNATELY...LOTS OF THE USUAL UNCERTAINTY AS TO THE STRNGTH AND
TMNG OF THESE WK DISTURBANCES SO CONFIDENCE IN THIS IS LOW.
NONETHELESS...MOISTURE XPCTD TO RMN IN ABDNC...ESPCLLY IN THE LWR
LVLS WTH MODELS ACTUALLY SUGGESTING SOME INCRS IN MOISTURE...ESPCLLY
WRN SCTNS BY 48 HRS.  THIS PRBLY DUE TO FRST INFLUX OF MOISTURE FROM
HRCN LINDA.  ETA ALSO SHWS TRAIN OF WK DISTURBANCES BY 48 HRS LFTNG
FRM NRN BAJA NNEWRD ACRS WRN AZ INTO UT...AGN THIS PRBLY A REFLECTION
OF SOME ENRGY SPINOFF FRM LINDA.

SO WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN FOR THIS PCKG...WILL KP ACTVTY GOING INTO
TNGT THO POPS WILL CRTNLY BE LWR.  MAY SEE ACTVTY END ENTRLY OVRNGT
AS THE SHRT WV MVS NE OF THE AREA BUT WTH THE UNCERTAINTIES MENTIONED
ABV RSLTNG IN SM NOCTURNAL CONVCTN LAST FEW NGTS...WILL STY WTH
PERSISTENCE.  WILL SIDE WTH SUBSIDENCE TOMORROW AND GO LOW GRADE AS
WUD XPCT ANY INCRS IN MOISTURE TO NOT ARRV UNTIL MON AND FEEL ANTHR
DCNT SHRT WV RGT ON THE HEELS OF TDY/S IS RTHR UNLIKELY.  IN KEEPING
WTH ADVRTSD/XPCTD TRNDS...WILL HWEVR INCRS ACTVTY FOR MON...ESPCLLY
WRN SCTNS.  KHW

FLG -426  INW -325
FLG...NONE.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 13, 1:45 AM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Gila, Yavapai	90 min
Sep 13, 5:31 AM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino	64 min
Sep 13, 10:28 AM MST	Flash Flood Warning	FGZ	Gila	117 min
Sep 13, 10:46 AM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino	59 min
Sep 13, 11:42 AM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Navajo	43 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 1997 Every 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.