Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 33, NWS Tucson, AZ
NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 4, 1997, 1:02 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
- Aug 4, 1997, 1:02 PM MST (20:02 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 4, 1997, 1:50 PM MST
- In force
- 48 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 20:06 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, 8.0 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 481 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -166 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1666 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 9 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 68 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 042005 RRA SVRTUS AZC019-042050- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 102 PM MST MON AUG 4 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON AZ HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 150 PM MST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA ...EASTERN PIMA COUNTY AT 103 PM MST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES SOUTH OF SOUTHWEST TUCSON MOVIDNG NORTH NORTHWEST AT 10 MPH. SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM ARE... SOUTHEAST TUCSON BY 128 PM MST SOUTHWEST TUCSON BY 141 PM MST
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 4, 9:49 AM MST, 3 hours 13 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 9:49 AM MST, 3 hours 13 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 930 AM MST MON AUG 4 1997 INTERESTING DAY SHAPING UP FOR SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. TUS SOUNDING UNSTABLE WITH A CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURE OF 95 DEGREES AND PERHAPS MORE CAPE THAN ANY DAY THIS SUMMER. WILL CERTAINLY HEAT MORE TODAY THAN PAST COUPLE OF DAYS SO EXPECT MORE AND STRONGER CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON OVER SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THAN OVER THE WEEKEND. COUPLE OF ITEMS OF INTEREST INCLUDE THE EASTERLY WAVE VISIBLE ON WATER VAPOR PICTURES AROUND 104 W...LARGE CONVECTIVE SYSTEM THAT DEVELOPED AND PROPAGATED OVER THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA LAST NIGHT...AND SHORT WAVE OVER WESTERN ARIZONA WHICH MOVED NORTHWARD FROM BAJA OVER THE WEEKEND. WATER VAPOR LOOPS SHOWS THAT THE AFFECT OF THE EASTERLY WAVE TO BECOME THE DOMINANT FEATURE OVER SOUTHERN AZ...NORTHERN MX AS DEFORMATION ZONE/MOISTURE BOUNDARY PROPAGATING WESTWARD WITH TIME. WILL CONTINUE TO ASSIMILATE ABOVE INFORMATION FOR THE CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK AND BECOME MORE DEFINITIVE REGARDING TIMING/PLACEMENT OF CONVECTION...BUT EXPECT A VERY ACTIVE CONVECTIVE DAY OVER TUCSON CWA DURING THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. NO CHANGES TO ZONE/LOCAL FORECASTS ATTM. TUS 353. DRB| TUS...NONE.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 4, 11:56 AM MST, 1 hour 6 minutes before
AZZ019-026>030-042300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST MON AUG 4 1997...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED.
...THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OVER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN
OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON...
AREAL PROBABILITY RAIN GREATER THAN STORM
COVERAGE OF SEVERE 1.00 2.00 MOTION
COCHISE 40 30 50 20 NW 12
GRAHAM 40 35 60 30 NW 10
GREENLEE 50 20 50 25 NW 8
TUCSON/ERN PIMA 40 50 70 40 NW 10
TOHONO OODHAM 35 40 70 40 NW 7
WESTERN PIMA 25 15 40 20 NW 4
SOUTHEAST PINAL 35 45 70 40 NW 10
SANTA CRUZ 50 50 70 40 NW 10
SYNOPSIS...
ABUNDANT SUNSHINE...LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...AND MODERATE INSTABILITY
WILL PRODUCE STRONG AND LOCALLY SEVERE CONVECTION OVER SOUTHEAST
ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON. DEVELOPMENT SHOULD OCCUR OVER THE HIGHER
TERRAIN FROM AROUND BISBEE TOWARD SAFFORD AND PROPAGATE WESTWARD
DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON. DUE TO THE HIGH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND
RELATIVELY SLOW MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS
LIKELY. SOME STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE SEVERE WIND.
*****************************************************************
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/BRIGHTSpecial weather statement, Aug 4, 12:32 PM MST, 30 minutes before
AZZ019-026>030-042300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST MON AUG 4 1997...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED...RETRAN
...THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OVER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN
OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON...
AREAL PROBABILITY RAIN GREATER THAN STORM
COVERAGE OF SEVERE 1.00 2.00 MOTION
COCHISE 40 30 50 20 NW 12
GRAHAM 40 35 60 30 NW 10
GREENLEE 50 20 50 25 NW 8
TUCSON/ERN PIMA 40 50 70 40 NW 10
TOHONO OODHAM 35 40 70 40 NW 7
WESTERN PIMA 25 15 40 20 NW 4
SOUTHEAST PINAL 35 45 70 40 NW 10
SANTA CRUZ 50 50 70 40 NW 10
SYNOPSIS...
ABUNDANT SUNSHINE...LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...AND MODERATE INSTABILITY
WILL PRODUCE STRONG AND LOCALLY SEVERE CONVECTION OVER SOUTHEAST
ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON. DEVELOPMENT SHOULD OCCUR OVER THE HIGHER
TERRAIN FROM AROUND BISBEE TOWARD SAFFORD AND PROPAGATE WESTWARD
DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON. DUE TO THE HIGH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND
RELATIVELY SLOW MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS
LIKELY. SOME STORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE SEVERE WIND.
*****************************************************************
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/BRIGHTThe office that day
Everything else NWS Tucson, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 3, 5:20 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Cochise | 55 min |
| Aug 3, 5:20 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Cochise | 85 min |
| Aug 4, 1:39 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima, Santa Cruz | 51 min |
| Aug 4, 2:06 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 44 min |
| Aug 4, 2:39 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pinal | 46 min |
| Aug 4, 3:22 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pinal | 33 min |
| Aug 4, 4:17 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 63 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.