Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997
Flash Flood Warning 37, NWS Tucson, AZ
NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 21, 1997, 3:51 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 59 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 21, 1997, 3:51 PM MST (22:51 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 21, 1997, 4:50 PM MST
- In force
- 59 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tucson, AZ
- Area
- Whole counties
County Pima County, AZ
The radar
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 112 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:52 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, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 84 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
- 123 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -263 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2231 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 9 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 6 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 81 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 KTUS 212253 FFWTUS AZC019-212350- BULLETIN FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 351 PM MST THU AUG 21 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON AZ HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 450 PM MST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA ...EASTERN PIMA COUNTY INCLUDING THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE TUCON METRO AREA... AT 350 PM TUCSON DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WITH HEAVY RAIN IN THE FAR EASTERN PORTION OF THE TUCSON METRO AREA...NEAR THE SAGUARO NATIONAL MONUMENT. THIS THUNDERSTORM HAS RAINFALL RATES IN EXCESS OF 1 INCH PER HOUR. HEAVY RAIN IS ALSO FALLING IN THE VAIL AND COLOSSAL CAVE AREAS. MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO USE CAUTION jAS WASHES AND DIPS WILL RAPIDLY FILL WITH WATER. DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD! HOLBROOK
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.
NWS Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Aug 21, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 21 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 21, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 21 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 230 PM MST THU AUG 21 1997 TEMPS HEATG UP NICELY THIS AFTN. STG TO SVR TS ALRDY STARTG TO FIRE IN THE FAVORABLE AREAS. XPCT AN ACTIVE LATE AFTN AND EVE FOR SE AZ. 18Z TUS SNDG CONTS TO SHOW A CAPE ARND 1400 J/KG SO ONLY NEED OUTFLOW BNDRIES TO GET THINGS GOING IN THE LWR VLYS. STG VERTICAL SHEAR EVIDENT IN THIS MRNGS SNDGS MAKE SVR DWN BURST WNDS PSBL WITH THE STGR CELLS. COORD WITH SPC CONCERNG A WK INVERTED TROF MOVG INTO SRN AZ THIS EVE. THIS FEATURE MAY BE THE TRIGGER FOR LARGE OUTBREAK TNGT. WATCH BOX HAS BEEN ISSUED BY SPC THRU 22/04Z. H5 HI RMNS IN A FAVORABLE POSTN FRI/SAT AS OTHER INVERTED TROFS MOV INTO THE RGN FM SONORA. WL HAVE TO WATCH FOR PSBL SURGES THRU SAT. FRI MAY END UP BEING A DOWN DAY FOR TS AFT TNGTS ACTIVITY. FOR NOW WL GO WITH THE USUAL MONSOON FCST. POTENT TROF MOVG THRU THE PAC NW THIS WEEKEND TO FLATTEN RDG AND PUSH HI CNTR TO FAR SE AZ. RDG TO REBOUND BY DAY 5. AGREE WITH PHX THAT BROADBUSH FCST THE BEST WAY TO GO. TUS 5343. OKULSKI TUS...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR ZNS 26>30 THRU 22/04Z.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 21, 11:41 AM MST, 4 hours 10 minutes before
AZZ019-026>030-212300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST THU AUG 21 1997...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED
AREAL PROBABILITY RAIN GREATER THAN STORM
COVERAGE OF SEVERE 1.00 2.00 MOTION
COCHISE 50 45 70 40 W 10
GRAHAM 45 40 40 25 W 10
GREENLEE 40 35 30 15 SW 10
TUCSON/ERN PIMA 40 40 50 30 W 10
TOHONO OODHAM 30 40 40 25 W 10
WESTERN PIMA 20 30 30 20 W 10
SOUTHEAST PINAL 30 35 50 30 W 10
SANTA CRUZ 50 45 75 50 W 10
SYNOPSIS...MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE OVER SOUTHERN
ARIZONA TODAY. THE AIR MASS WILL BECOME VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE
BY THE LATE AFTERNOON WITH SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT OVER MUCH OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA EXPECTED. SOME OF THE
STORMS MAY CONTINUE UNTIL AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. THE VERY MOIST
AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL MAKE HEAVY RAINFALL LIKELY...AND
SEVERE WIND POSSIBLE.
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KEY...
AREAL COVERAGE - PERCENT OF COUNTY OR AREA THAT WILL EXPERIENCE
THUNDERSTORMS
PROB OF SEVERE - THE PROBABILITY THAT ANY ONE OF THE STORMS WILL
REACH SEVERE LEVELS (DAMAGING WIND AND/OR
LARGE HAIL)
RAIN GRTR THAN - THE PROBABILITY THAT ANY ONE OF THE STORMS WILL
PRODUCE RAIN EXCEEDING 1 INCH OR 2 INCHES IN
ANY LOCATION
STORM MOTION - GENERAL DIRECTION TO WHICH THE STORMS WILL
LIKELY MOVE AND SPEED IN MPH
NOTE...
VALID TIME IS FROM 12 NOON TO 12 MIDNIGHT OF THE DAY OF ISSUANCE
THIS PRODUCT IS NOT TO BE USED IN PLACE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OR
FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS OR WATCHES. THIS PRODUCT IS ONLY USED FOR
OUTLOOK PURPOSES.
END/OKULSKINearby
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.