Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 16, NWS Phoenix, AZ

September 8, 1997Maricopa County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Sep 8, 1997, 6:31 PM MST for Maricopa County, Arizona. It was in force for 64 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 8, 1997, 6:31 PM MST (01:31 UTC)
Expired
Sep 8, 1997, 7:35 PM MST
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Phoenix, AZ
Area
Whole counties

County Maricopa County, AZ

The radar

The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:32 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

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 198 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, Tuscon, AZ at 00:00Z on 1997-09-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 190 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tuscon, AZ at 00:00Z on 1997-09-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 58 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
190 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3366 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
58 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
67 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 KPHX 090133
FFWPHX
AZC013-090235-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
631 PM MST MON SEP 8 1997

*  FLASH FLOOD AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
   EAST CENTRAL MARICOPA COUNTY IN CENTRAL ARIZONA

*  UNTIL 735 PM MST

*  SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
    THE SALT RIVER RECREATIONAL LAKES
    THE APACHE TRAIL
 
*  AT 625 PM MST RADAR DETECTED A SEVERE STORM WITH EXTREMELY
   HEAVY RAIN LOCATED NEAR APACHE LAKE. STORM MOVEMENT WAS TOWARD
   THE WEST NORTHWEST AT 5 MPH. IN ADDITION...RADAR ESTIMATED
   RAINFALL RATES OF 2 INCHES PER HOUR WITH THIS AND NEARBY
   STORMS. THUS... FLASH FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IMMINENT WITH
   THESE STORMS.

STRONG DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM.
 
VASQUEZ

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.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 8, 2:42 PM MST, 3 hours 49 minutes before
AZZ020>025-CAZ030>033-091130-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
245 PM MST/PDT SUN SEP 7 1997

...A SLIGHT  RISK OF SEVERE  THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE  ENTIRE OUTLOOK
AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

ISOLATED TO  SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS  ARE FORECAST ACROSS  THE ENTIRE
OUTLOOK AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.  THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT
SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS  COULD BECOME SEVERE.  THIS  INCLUDES THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES  IN  ARIZONA AND  SOUTHEAST  CALIFORNIA...SOUTHERN
GILA...MARICOPA...NORTHWEST   PINAL...LA  PAZ...YUMA...IMPERIAL...AND
EASTERN/CENTRAL RIVERSIDE.

THE MAIN THREAT WITH  THESE STORMS WILL BE LOCALLY  HEAVY RAINFALL...
STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...AND POSSIBLY BLOWING DUST.

THE AIRMASS  ACROSS  THE  OUTLOOK AREA  REMAINS  MOIST  AND  UNSTABLE
TODAY...AND  UPPER LEVEL WINDS WOULD TEND TO FAVOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE  RISK AREA.  IN  ADDITION...
ANY STORMS THAT FORM IN THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE OUTLOOK AREA TODAY
AND  TONIGHT WILL  TEND  TO BE  RATHER  SLOW MOVING...AND  THIS  WILL
ENHANCE THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING.
....................................................................

FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS OUTLOOK...SEVERE WEATHER REFERS TO ANY OF
THE FOLLOWING...DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 57 MPH...HAIL 3/4 INCH
IN DIAMETER OR LARGER...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WHICH RESULTS IN
RUNNING WASHES OR FLOODING.

THE OUTLOOK AREA INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

IN ARIZONA                              IN CALIFORNIA

MARICOPA            YUMA                IMPERIAL
NORTHWEST PINAL     LA PAZ              CENTRAL AND EASTERN RIVERSIDE
SOUTHERN GILA
....................................................................
Special weather statement, Sep 8, 3:13 PM MST, 3 hours 18 minutes before
AZZ020>025-CAZ030>033-091130-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED DATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
245 PM MST/PDT MON SEP 8 1997

...A SLIGHT  RISK OF SEVERE  THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE  ENTIRE OUTLOOK
AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

ISOLATED TO  SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS  ARE FORECAST ACROSS  THE ENTIRE
OUTLOOK AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.  THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT
SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS  COULD BECOME SEVERE.  THIS  INCLUDES THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES  IN  ARIZONA AND  SOUTHEAST  CALIFORNIA...SOUTHERN
GILA...MARICOPA...NORTHWEST   PINAL...LA  PAZ...YUMA...IMPERIAL...AND
EASTERN/CENTRAL RIVERSIDE.

THE MAIN THREAT WITH  THESE STORMS WILL BE LOCALLY  HEAVY RAINFALL...
STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...AND POSSIBLY BLOWING DUST.

THE AIRMASS  ACROSS  THE  OUTLOOK AREA  REMAINS  MOIST  AND  UNSTABLE
TODAY...AND  UPPER LEVEL WINDS WOULD TEND TO FAVOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE  RISK AREA.  IN  ADDITION...
ANY STORMS THAT FORM IN THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE OUTLOOK AREA TODAY
AND  TONIGHT WILL  TEND  TO BE  RATHER  SLOW MOVING...AND  THIS  WILL
ENHANCE THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING.
....................................................................

FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS OUTLOOK...SEVERE WEATHER REFERS TO ANY OF
THE FOLLOWING...DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 57 MPH...HAIL 3/4 INCH
IN DIAMETER OR LARGER...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WHICH RESULTS IN
RUNNING WASHES OR FLOODING.

THE OUTLOOK AREA INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

IN ARIZONA                              IN CALIFORNIA

MARICOPA            YUMA                IMPERIAL
NORTHWEST PINAL     LA PAZ              CENTRAL AND EASTERN RIVERSIDE
SOUTHERN GILA
....................................................................

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 8, 5:29 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRPinal61 min
Sep 8, 6:08 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRPinal62 min
Sep 8, 6:31 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRMaricopa64 min
Sep 9, 4:36 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRYuma64 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.