Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 109, NWS Tucson, AZ

September 21, 1997Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 21, 1997, 2:08 AM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 42 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 21, 1997, 2:08 AM MST (09:08 UTC)
Expired
Sep 21, 1997, 2:50 AM MST
In force
42 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 09:10 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, 9.1 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tuscon, AZ at 00:00Z on 1997-09-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 278 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 1997-09-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 24 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
278 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-31 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3126 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
90 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KTUS 210910 RRA
SVRTUS
AZC019-210950-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
208 AM MST SUN SEP 21 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON AZ HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 250 AM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA

   ...EASTERN PIMA COUNTY INCLUDING THE TUCSON METRO AREA...
 
...AT 207 PM TUCSON DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
OVE"R SOUTHWEST TUCSON JUST WEST OF THE TUCSON INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT. THIS THUNDERSTORM IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

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 20, 9:16 PM MST, 4 hours 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 20, 9:16 PM MST, 4 hours 52 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
915 PM MST SAT SEP 20 1997

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MAINLY CONFINED TO E OF
TUCSON THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WHERE THE DEEPEST SUBTROPICAL
MOISTURE AND DYNAMICS ARE AT. LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE..DUE TO
BACK-DOOR COLD FRONT..COMBINED WITH POSSIBLE JET STREAK AT 300 MB
FOR ACTIVITY OCCURRING E OF TUCSON. HAVE SEEN SOME TRAINING OF
THUNDERSTORMS WITH SOME LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS. MAY SEE ACTION
CONTINUING OVERNIGHT E OF TUCSON WHICH CURRENT FCSTS HANDLE. UPDATED
ZONES EARLIER TO TAKE OUT MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM TUCSON WEST.

MAY SEE SOME GUSTY BREEZES TO 20 MPH SUNDAY MORNING AS GRADIENT
TIGHTENS AS SFC HIGH CONTINUE TO BUILD SOUTH ACROSS NEW MEXICO. THIS
NOT SHOWN IN CURRENT FORECAST AND WILL LEAVE THIS UP TO MID-SHIFT TO
PONDER.

LATEST GUIDANCE TAKES NORA TO CABO SAN LUCAS SOMETIME TUESDAY. QUICK
LOOK AT 00Z ETA/NGM 48 HR SFC PANELS SHOWS THAT ETA FAIRLY SIMILIAR
TO POSITION OF NORA MONDAY AFTERNOON WHILE NGM HAS NO CLUE. STILL A
WAIT AND SEE ATTITUDE IF NORA WILL AFFECT CWA THE MIDDLE OF NEXT
WEEK.   TUS 0332. GLUECK

TUS...NONE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 21, 4:03 AM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima, Pinal67 min
Sep 21, 4:39 AM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCGraham61 min
Sep 21, 7:35 AM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise, Pima30 min
Sep 21, 12:56 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise94 min
Sep 21, 12:56 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise94 min
Sep 21, 2:16 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise64 min
Sep 21, 2:16 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise64 min
Sep 21, 2:28 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise, Graham62 min
Sep 21, 2:28 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise, Graham62 min
Sep 21, 3:33 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise62 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.