Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 28, NWS Tucson, AZ

July 28, 1997Graham County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 28, 1997, 4:10 PM MST for Graham County, Arizona. It was in force for 30 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
Jul 28, 1997, 4:10 PM MST (23:10 UTC)
Expired
Jul 28, 1997, 4:40 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 23:13 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, 11.2 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tuscon, AZ at 12:00Z on 1997-07-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 23 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 12:00Z on 1997-07-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -2 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTUS 282310 RRA
SVRTUS
AZC009-282340-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
410 PM MST MON JUL 28 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON AZ HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 440 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA

   ...EAST CENTRAL GRAHAM COUNTY
 
AT 406 PM MST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS IN THE VICINITY O@F SAFFORD MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.
THESE STORMS WERE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH AND ONE
INCH HAIL.

SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM ARE...
SOLOMON                 BY 413 PM MST

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 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 28, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 40 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, 4 hours 23 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/HOLBROOK

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 28, 3:40 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCGraham30 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.