Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 27, NWS Tucson, AZ
NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 28, 1997, 3:40 PM MST for Graham County, Arizona. It was in force for 30 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 28, 1997, 3:40 PM MST (22:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 28, 1997, 4:10 PM MST
- In force
- 30 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tucson, AZ
- Area
- Whole counties
County Graham County, AZ
The radar
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 135 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:44 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 4:00 PM MST | Thunderstorm Wind 60 | Safford, AZ | Thunderstorm winds blew down several power poles in Safford and the nearby towns of Thatcher and Pima. |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.
The nearest sounding before it
Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 127 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
- 23 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -234 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1983 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 14 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -2 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 26 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 282240 RRA SVRTUS AZC009-282310- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 340 PM MST MON JUL 28 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON AZ HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 410 PM MST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA ...CENTRAL GRAHAM COUNTY AT 336 PM MST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 9 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF SAFFORD OR 2 MILES WEST OF PIMA MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. THESE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS GUSTS TO 60 MPH. 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 Jul 28, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 28, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 230 PM MST MON JUL 28 1997 STORMS DEVELOPED ON WRN EDGE OF DEEP MSTR AND MOVG NE. BEST REFLECTIVTY NEAR THE STORM BASE AND WE HAVE SEEN AN INCH OR SO WITH HEAVIEST STORMS. WRN AND CNTRL PIMA AND ALL BUT EXTREME ERN PINAL ARE DRY AND XCPT FOR A MTN TSTM OR TWO WILL NOT SEE MUCH. TUS AND REST OF AREA WILL SEE STORMS THRU EARLY EVENING. THERE STILL HAVING TROUBLE GETTING AWAY FROM MTNS WITH ANY KIND OF PRECIP BUT AS AFTN WEARS ON WE MAY BE ABLE TO GET VALLEYS WET. WITH CA LOW MOVG NWD RIDGE BUILDS BACK IN QUICKLY. XPCT ERN ZONES TO REMAIN FAIRLY ACTIVE ON TUE BUT BACK TO MORE ACTIVE MONSOON BY WED. MAY EVEN SEE AN UPSWING IN ACTIVITY TUE EVENING IN ZN 28. THERE IS STILL THE PROBLEM OF TO MANY MID CLOUDS IN THE AREA ON WED BUT IF MSTR FCST BY ETA RATHER THAN NGM VERIFIES THEN TSTM POTENTIAL INCREASES. TEMPS SHOULD BE UP A LITTLE ON WTUE AND DOWN SOME ON WED...ALL CLOUD COVER DEPENDENT. TUS 3234. HOLBROOK. TUS...NONE
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 28, 11:47 AM MST, 3 hours 53 minutes before
AZZ019-026>030-290700-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST MON JUL 28 1997...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED.
AREAL PROBABILITY RAIN GREATER THAN STORM
COVERAGE OF SEVERE 1.00 2.00 MOTION
COCHISE 35 15 20 0 N 10
GRAHAM 35 15 20 0 N 10
GREENLEE 60 5 40 0 N 5
TUCSON/ERN PIMA 20 15 5 0 N 5
TOHONO OODHAM 5 5 5 0 NW 5
WESTERN PIMA 5 5 5 0 NW 5
SOUTHEAST PINAL 5 5 5 0 W 5
SANTA CRUZ 20 10 10 0 W 5
SYNOPSIS...
DRYING HAS OCCURRED IN DESERTS WITH THUNDERSTORMS CONFINED TO
MOUNTAINS IN THE AFTERNOON WITH A FEW OF THESE MOVING OFF THE
MOUNTAINS BY THE EVENING. MORE MOISTURE IS AVAILABLE IN EASTERN
ZONES FOR SCATTERED ACTIVITY. THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS
HAS BEEN ENHANCED SOME BY MID LEVEL DRYING WITH THE BEST CHANCE
IN EASTERN AREAS.
*****************************************************************
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/HOLBROOKThe office that day
Everything else NWS Tucson, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 4:10 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Graham | 30 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.