Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 100, NWS Tucson, AZ

September 8, 1997Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 8, 1997, 3:27 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 48 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, 3:27 PM MST (22:27 UTC)
Expired: Sep 8, 1997, 4:15 PM MST
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Tucson, AZ
Area: Whole counties

County Pima County, AZ

The nearest sounding before it

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 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.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 634 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -202 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1860 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 13 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 95 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.

742 
WUUS1 KTUS 082229 RRA
SVRTUS
AZC019-082315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
327 PM MST MON SEP 8 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON AZ HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 415 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA

   ...NORTHEASTERN PIMA COUNTY
 
AT 324 PM MST...TUCSON DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
IN THE VICINITY OF ORO VALLEY MOVING WEST NORTHWEST AT 10 MPH.
THIS STORM WAS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH
...3/4 INCH HAIL AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN.

OKULSKI

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 Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Sep 8, 2:30 PM MST, 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 8, 2:30 PM MST, 57 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
230 PM MST MON SEP 8 1997

MM5 DEVELOPS BIG COMPLEX 120 OR SO MILES SOUTH OF BISBEE THIS
EVENING THEN PUSHES THE SYS NORTH TO BORDER BY 12Z. THIS MAY FALL
APART BEFORE REACHING BORDER BUT IMPORTANT ASPECT IS THAT IT
PUSHES A SIG AMOUNT OF LOW LVL MSTR NWD SETTING UP TUE FOR TSTMS
ALONG THE BORDER. SO WILL WORD ZONES FOR THIS EFFECT AND INCREASE
POPS ALONG BORDER.

OTRW...DRY TONGUE AT H7 MOVG OVR AREA TODAY AS BEST MSTR MOVES
FROM GULF OF CA TOWARDS LAS. MM5 HINTS AT LAS STORMS EXTENDING
SWD ACROSS WRN AZ DESERTS THIS AFTN/EVE POSSIBLY AS FAR SOUTH AS
I-8. ISOLD STUFF MAINLY NR MTNS DOWN HERE.

UPR LOW TO THE SOUTH APPEARS TO BE ON THE MOVE AFTER SITTING IN
CNTRL MEX A COUPLE OF DAYS. MM5 WANTS TO WEAKEN THIS SYS AND MOVE
IT EWD...BUT SAT PIX SHOWING IT MOVG WWD...MAY PLAY A FACTOR IN
SE AZ WX LATER IN THE WEEK.

BACK DOOR FRONT TO DROP INTO NM ON WED MAY INCREASE OUR MSTR THU.
TUS 2222. HOLBROOK

TUS...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 8, 11:49 AM MST, 3 hours 38 minutes before

AZZ019-026>030-082300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST MON SEP 8 1997...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED

...MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE STORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN ESPECIALLY OVER
PIMA...SOUTHEAST PINAL...AND SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES...

                AREAL    PROBABILITY   RAIN GREATER THAN   STORM
              COVERAGE    OF SEVERE     1.00       2.00    MOTION

COCHISE          15          10          10          0      W 10
GRAHAM           15          10          10          0      W  8
GREENLEE         25          10          10          0     SW 10
TUCSON/ERN PIMA  15          10          10          5      W 10
TOHONO OODHAM   15          15          15          5     NW 10
WESTERN PIMA     20          20          15          0     NW 10
SOUTHEAST PINAL  10          10          10          0      W 10
SANTA CRUZ       20          15          10          0      W 10

SYNOPSIS...DRY AIR MOVING IN FROM EAST WILL LIMIT THUNDERSTORM
ACTIVITY. BEST CHANCE OF RAIN IS ALONG MEXICAN BORDER NEAR
NOGALES WEST TO ORGAN PIPE.
*****************************************************************
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/HOLBROOK

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 7, 5:31 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	29 min
Sep 8, 3:50 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pinal	75 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 1997 Every 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.