Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997
Flash Flood Warning 40, NWS Tucson, AZ
NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 28, 1997, 4:39 PM MST for Pinal County, Arizona. It was in force for 91 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 28, 1997, 4:39 PM MST (23:39 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 28, 1997, 6:10 PM MST
- In force
- 91 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tucson, AZ
- Area
- Whole counties
County Pinal County, AZ
The radar
The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:43 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
Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 92 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
- 728 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -165 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1741 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 17 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -38 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 40 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 282342 COR FFWTUS AZC021-290110- BULLETIN FLASH FLOOD WARNING...CORRECTION FOR TYPO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 439 PM MST THU AUG 28 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON AZ HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 610 PM MST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA ...SOUTHWESTERN PINAL COUNTY AT 435 PM TUCSON DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN ACROSS SOUTHWEST PINAL COUNTY FROM FRIENDLY CORNERS WEST ACROSS THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE TOHONO OODHAM NATION. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING VERY LITTLE AND RADAR INDICATED RAINFALL IN EXCESS OF TWO INCHES HAS FALLEN ACROSS THIS AREA WITHIN THE LAST HOUR. A SPOTTER 25 MILES SO`UTH OF CASA GRANDE REPORTED 1.6 INCHES OF RAIN IN A 1/2 HOUR. DON'T DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED ROADS! MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.
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 28, 2:30 PM MST, 2 hours 9 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 28, 2:30 PM MST, 2 hours 9 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 230 PM MST THU AUG 28 1997 STORMS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING OVER SANTA CRUZ AND EASTERN PIMA COUNTY. THESE ARE LARGE STORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL REPORTED...BIG QUESTION IS WHETHER OR NOT STORMS WILL MAKE IT INTO TUS. THE DESERTS WEST OF TUCSON ARE DEFINATELY FULL OF MOISTURE AND THINGS OUGHT TO BE ACTIVE OUT THERE. IT LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BE A BIG DAY TODAY AND THAT SHOULD MAKE TOMORROW LESS ACTIVE...BUT STILL PLENTY OF MOISTURE AROUND FOR SCATTERED TSTORMS. SATURDAY ABOUT THE SAME AS FRIDAY WITH LITTLE CHANGE IN THE OVERALL PATTERN...DRYING FROM THE WEST WILL PROBABLY NOT MAKE IT INTO OUR CWA UNTIL LATE IN THE WEEKEND...IF AT ALL. TUS 4333. LUDWIG TUS...NONE
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 28, 11:49 AM MST, 4 hours 50 minutes before
AZZ019-026>030-282300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST THU AUG 28 1997...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED
AREAL PROBABILITY RAIN GREATER THAN STORM
COVERAGE OF SEVERE 1.00 2.00 MOTION
COCHISE 30 30 20 0 NW 10
GRAHAM 30 30 20 0 NW 10
GREENLEE 30 30 20 0 NW 10
TUCSON/ERN PIMA 30 40 40 20 NW 10
TOHONO OODHAM 30 40 50 20 N 10
WESTERN PIMA 30 40 50 20 N 10
SOUTHEAST PINAL 20 30 30 20 N 10
SANTA CRUZ 40 40 60 30 N 10
SYNOPSIS...SOUTHERLY WINDS OUT OF MEXICO HAVE BROUGHT MOIST AIR
TO MOST OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA...WITH MOST OF THE MOISTURE FROM
TUCSON WESTWARD. THE POTENTIAL FOR THUNDERSTORMS TODAY IN THE
TUCSON AND NOGALES AREAS IS GREATER THAN YESTERDAY. THE MAIN
THREAT TODAY WILL BE HEAVY RAINFALL AND LOCALIZED FLOODING.
*****************************************************************
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/LUDWIGThe office that day
Everything else NWS Tucson, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27, 6:32 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 78 min |
| Aug 27, 8:37 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 33 min |
| Aug 28, 1:15 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Santa Cruz | 60 min |
| Aug 28, 1:22 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 48 min |
| Aug 28, 2:07 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima, Santa Cruz | 88 min |
| Aug 28, 2:07 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima, Santa Cruz | 88 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.