Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 32, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 1, 1997Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 1, 1997, 4:49 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 61 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 1, 1997, 4:49 PM MST (23:49 UTC)
Expired
Aug 1, 1997, 5:50 PM MST
In force
61 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 23:51 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, 11.8 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 12:00Z on 1997-08-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 470 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 1997-08-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 5 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
470 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-106 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2151 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 Aug 1, 2:30 PM MST, 2 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 1, 2:30 PM MST, 2 hours 19 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
230 PM MST FRI AUG 1 1997

TSTMS BEGAN SHORTLY BEFORE NOON IN COCHISE COUNTY WHERE THE
LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WAS THE GREATEST. DEVELOPMENT WAS MUCH MORE
RAPID THAN YESTERDAY WITH ECHO TOPS UP TO 54K FT.  HAVE HAD ONE
SPOTTER REPORT OF 1.5 INCH OF RAIN. ETA SHOWING POTENTIAL FOR
CONVECTIVE COMPLEX OVER NWRN MEXICO TO POSSIBLY ADD MORE LOW
LEVEL MOISTURE TONIGHT. MM5 INCREASING PRECIP WATER TO 1.5 INCHES
TONIGHT. MODELS CONTINUING TO MOVE UPPER HIGH WESTWARD TO CO BY
SUN. WITH SELY FLOW...MOISTURE AT 700 AND 500 MB TO MAINTAIN OR
INCREASE. MOVEMENT OF HIGH CENTER MAY PRODUCE WIND PROFILE MORE
FAVORABLE TO SEVERE WEATHER...BUT THAT IS TOO FAR AHEAD.  ETA
KEEPS RELATIVLY DRIER AIR OVER FAR SW AZ FOR A VERY STRONG
MOISTURE GRADIENT THAT AREA ON SAT.  WILL THIS BE A FOCUSING
MECHANISM...
TUS 4343

TUS...NONE

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 1, 11:47 AM MST, 5 hours 2 minutes before
AZZ019-026>030-012300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST FRI AUG 1 1997...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED.

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

COCHISE          40          20          20         10     NW 15
GRAHAM           40          20          20         10     NW 15
GREENLEE         40          10          20         10     NW 15
TUCSON/ERN PIMA  40          10          20         10     NW 15
TOHONO OODHAM   30          10          10         10     NW 15
WESTERN PIMA     30          10          10         10     NW 15
SOUTHEAST PINAL  30          10          15         10     NW 15
SANTA CRUZ       40          20          20         10     NW 15

SYNOPSIS...
OUTFLOWS FROM LAST NIGHTS THUNDERSTORMS HAVE INCREASED AND
DEEPENED THE MOISTURE OVER THE AREA. THE ATMOSPHERE IS ALSO MORE
UNSTABLE THAN YESTERDAY. THE POTENTIAL FOR BOTH MOUNTAIN AND
VALLEY THUNDERSTORMS IS BETTER THAN YESTERDAY.  BRIEF HEAVY RAINS
CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. A FEW STORMS MAY PRODUCE
RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OVER 1.00 INCH.
*****************************************************************
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/
Special weather statement, Aug 1, 2:49 PM MST, 2 hours before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
249 PM MST FRI AUG 1 1997

AZZ028-020355-

...DUST DEVILS NEAR GREEN VALLEY...

A FEW STRONG DUST DEVILS ARE OCCURING SOUTH OF TUCSON IN THE GREEN
VALLEY AREA.  DUST DEVILS ARE CAPABLE OF WINDS TO 40 MPH. EXPECT
BLOWING DUST AND FLYING DEBRIS NEAR THESE DUST DEVILS.
Special weather statement, Aug 1, 2:50 PM MST, 1 hour 59 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
249 PM MST FRI AUG 1 1997

AZZ028-020355-

...DUST DEVILS NEAR GREEN VALLEY...

A FEW STRONG DUST DEVILS ARE OCCURING SOUTH OF TUCSON IN THDE GREEN
VALLEY AREA.  DUST DEVILS ARE CAPABLE OF WINDS TO 40 MPH. EXPECT
BLOWING DUST AND FLYING DEBRIS NEAR THESE DUST DEVILS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 1, 1:49 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise61 min
Aug 1, 3:15 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise65 min
Aug 1, 4:49 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima61 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.