Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 64, NWS Phoenix, AZ
NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 23, 1997, 3:59 PM MST for Gila County, Arizona. It was in force for 61 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 23, 1997, 3:59 PM MST (22:59 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 23, 1997, 5:00 PM MST
- In force
- 61 min
- Issued by
- NWS Phoenix, AZ
- Area
- Whole counties
County Gila County, AZ
The radar
The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 93 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:00 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 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 181 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
- 474 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -193 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2261 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 11 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -18 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 71 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KPHX 232300 RRA SVRPHX AZC007-240000- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 359 PM MST SAT AUG 23 1997 * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SOUTH CENTRAL GILA COUNTY IN CENTRAL ARIZONA * UNTIL 500 PM MST * SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED GLOBE MIAMI CLAYPOOL * AT 355 PM MST RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN THE GLOBE/MIAMI AREA. THE STORMS WERE SHOWING LITTLE MOVEMENT. DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THESE STORMS. THESE STORMS COULD ALSO PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN AND QUICKLY FLOOD NORMALLY DRY WASHES. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH AREAS WHERE MOVING WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. BRUCE
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.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 23, 2:47 PM MST, 1 hour 12 minutes before
AZZ020>025-CAZ030>033-241130- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 245 PM MST/PDT SAT AUG 23 1997 ...A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS FORECAST ACROSS THE EASTERN AND CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE OUTLOOK AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... MOISTURE REMAINS OVER MUCH OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA. THIS MOISTURE ALONG WITH ENOUGH CLEAR SKIES DURING THE EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS HAS ALLOWED FOR GOOD HEATING OF THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE. THE RESULT IS SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM DEVELPMENT OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE A LITTLE MORE ACTIVE OVER SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THAN IT WAS YESTERDAY. THIS ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING HOURS. MANY OF THE STORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS WILL NOT MOVE FAR SINCE THE WINDS ALOFT...WHICH STEER THE STORMS...CONTINUES TO BE WEAK. THIS WILL RESULT IN JUST A FEW STORMS MOVING OFF THE MOUNTAINS INTO THE DESERTS. HOWEVER...OUTFLOW WINDS FROM THESE STORMS MAY CAUSE SOME BLOWING DUST IN THE DESERTS. SO THE DESERTS MAY SEE A DUST STORM OR ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. BECAUSE THE UPPER WIND FLOW OVER ARIZONA IS SO WEAK...SOME STORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALIZED HEAVY RAIN OVER THE SAME SPOTS OF SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNTS OVER TIME. THIS RAINFALL MAY CAUSE WASHES TO RUN AND ALONG WITH LOCALIZED FLOODING. INDIVIDUAL OR PULSE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. LOCATIONS THAT ARE AT A SLIGHT RISK OF EXPERIENCING SEVERE WEATHER LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING ARE SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY...NORTHERN PINAL COUNTY...SOUTHERN MARICOPA COUNTY... AND CENTRAL AND EASTERN LA PAZ COUNTY. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE PHOENIX METRO AREA. ADDITIONALLY...REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING DUST MAY ACCOMPANY SOME OF THE STORMS. .................................................................... FOR 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 IMPERIAL SOUTHERN GILA CENTRAL/EASTERN RIVERSIDE NORTHWEST PINAL YUMA LA PAZ ....................................................................
Special weather statement, Aug 23, 3:46 PM MST, 13 minutes before
AZZ024-025-240145- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 346 PM MST SAT AUG 23 1997 ...THUNDERSTORMS TO AFFECT THE SALT/VERDE RIVER RECREATION AREAS... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MOVING SOUTH FROM THE RIM COUNTRY WILL BE MOVING INTO THE SALT AND VERDE RIVER RECREATIONS AREAS BETWEEN 430 AND 630 PM. SOME OF THE STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. FLOODING OF NORMALLY DRY WASHES WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE VICINITY OF THESE STORMS...AND BLOWING DUST COULD RESTRICT VISIBLITY TO NEAR ZERO AT TIMES. BOATERS IN THE ROOSEVELT LAKE...APACHE LAKE...CANYON LAKE...SAGUARO LAKE...AMD BARTLETT RESERVOIR AREAS SHOULD SEEK SAFE HARBOR AS STORMS APPROACH. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR SHARP CHANGES IN VISIBLITY IN BLOWING DUST AND HEAVY RAIN. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH AREAS WHERE MOVING WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. CAMPERS IN LOW LYING AREAS SHOULD ALSO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND AS STORMS MOVE INTO THE AREA. BRUCE
Special weather statement, Aug 23, 3:48 PM MST, 11 minutes before
AZZ024-025-240145- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 346 PM MST SAT AUG 23 1997 ...THUNDERSTORMS TO AFFECT THE SALT/VERDE RIVER RECREATION AREAS... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MOVING SOUTH FROM THE RIM COUNTRY WILL BE MOVING INTO THE SALT AND VERDE RIVER RECREATIONS AREAS BETWEEN 430 AND 630 PM. SOME OF THE STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. FLOODING OF NORMALLY DRY WASHES WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE VICINITY OF THESE STORMS...AND BLOWING DUST COULD RESTRICT VISIBLITY TO NEAR ZERO AT TIMES. BOATERS IN THE ROOSEVELT LAKE...APACHE LAKE...CANYON LAKE...SAGUARO LAKE...AMD BARTLETT RESERVOIR AREAS SHOULD SEEK SAFE HARBOR AS STORMS APPROACH. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR SHARP CHANGES IN VISIBLITY IN BLOWING DUST AND HEAVY RAIN. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH AREAS WHERE MOVING WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. CAMPERS IN LOW LYING AREAS SHOULD ALSO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND AS STORMS MOVE INTO THE AREA. BRUCE
The office that day
Everything else NWS Phoenix, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 5:31 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Yuma | 59 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.