Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 94, NWS Flagstaff, AZ

September 15, 1997Apache County, Arizona

NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 15, 1997, 12:40 PM MST for Apache County, Arizona. It was in force for 45 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, 12:40 PM MST (19:40 UTC)
Expired
Sep 15, 1997, 1:25 PM MST
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Flagstaff, AZ
Area
Whole counties

County Apache County, AZ

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 181 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:43 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, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 210 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 1997-09-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 611 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 12:00Z on 1997-09-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 72 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
611 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
702 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
72 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
73 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 15, 9:11 AM MST, 3 hours 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 15, 9:11 AM MST, 3 hours 29 minutes before
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
900 AM MST MON SEP 15 1997

SAT IMGRY SHWS MID/HGH LVL MOISTURE FRM LINDA CONTS TO BE CAUGHT UP
IN THE SWRLY FLW AND PULLED NEWRD ACRS OUR RGN.  MESO ETA AND NEW ETA
CLRLY SHW WK DSTRBNC OVR NWRN AZ ERLY THIS AM WHCH IS ENHANCING
ACTVTY ACRS NRN AZ ATTM.  THIS SYS PROGGED TO BE KCKD NEWRD INTO SWRN
CO BY 00Z THIS EVE AS STRNG SHRT WV RTNG AROUND BASE OF TROF OVR THE
PAC NW MOVES INTO W CNTRL UT LTR TDY.  THIS WILL ALLOW THE TROF IN
THE NW TO FINALLY OPEN UP AND MOVE EWRD INTO THE NRN PLNS.  XPCT THIS
TO LWR HGHTS AND PROVIDE A MORE PRONOUNCED SWRLY FLW ALFT OVER MAINLY
NRN AZ BY TOMORROW AS UPPR RDG OVR THE SW IS SUPPRESSED TO THE S.
THIS MAY CUT DWN ON ACTVTY SIGNIFICANTLY OVR THE FAR N AND NW
TOMORROW BUT ALWYS TKS SM TM TO COMPLETELY DRY OUT THE LWR LVLS SO
WILL NOT BE TOO QUICK TO DRY THNGS OUT UP THERE.  WILL TK A BTTR LUK
AT THIS FOR THE AFTN PCKG.

IN THE MEANTM...WTH DEEP MOISTURE AXS LYNG SW-NE ACRS MCH OF OUR RGN
XPCT ANTHR RTHR ACTV DY ACRS OUR CWA TDY.  FRST WK SYS WILL EXIT THE
NE LTR TDY BUT GUD UVV AHD OF STRNGR SYS SLIDING ACRS NV INTO WRN UT
LTR TDY WILL HLP TO KP THNGS GOING ESPCLLY WRN AND NRN SCTNS.  FFA
LUKS GUD FOR TDY FOR THESE SCTNS.  OTHR AREAS SHUD SEE MDT AMNT OF
ACTVTY TDY WTH SCT SHWRS AND EMBD TSTMS...THO EXTNSV CLD CVR MAY
INHIBIT STRNG CONVECTION.  NO UPDATES PLANNED.  KHW

FLG 545  INW 333
FLG...FLASH FLOOD WATCH ZONES 4>8 TIL 04Z.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 15, 12:40 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZApache45 min
Sep 15, 2:59 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningFGZCoconino, Yavapai2 hr

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.