Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 72, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 17, 1997Pinal County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 17, 1997, 1:25 AM MST for Pinal County, Arizona. It was in force for 60 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 17, 1997, 1:25 AM MST (08:25 UTC)
Expired
Aug 17, 1997, 2:25 AM MST
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Whole counties

County Pinal County, AZ

The radar

The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:29 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, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 92 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 1997-08-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 203 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 1997-08-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -3 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
203 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2556 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
2 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 170826
SVRTUS
AZC021-170925-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
125 AM MST SUN AUG 17 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON AZ HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 225 AM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

   ...SOUTH CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY
 
AT 120 AM MST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4
MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST O$F ELOY MOVING NORTH AT 5 TO 10 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM ARE...
PICACHO                 BY 130 AM MST
ELOY                    BY 145 AM 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 16, 9:17 PM MST, 4 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 9:17 PM MST, 4 hours 8 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
900 PM MST SAT AUG 16 1997

LOW LEVEL SLY WINDS AT YUMA NOT AS DEEP AS EARLIER TODAY...ONLY
TO 4K FT...AND DEW POINT AT YUMA DECREASING. THE 6 MB SOUTHERLY
PRESSURE DIFFERENCE FROM GYM TO YUMA HAD DECREASED TO 4 MB AT
01Z. THE MM5 SHOWED SURFACE DEW POINTS IN THE MID-UPPER 60S
MOVING NWD INTO AZ E OF ORGAN PIPE THEN NEWD THROUGH THE GILA
RIVER VALLEY TONIGHT. HIGHER RAMSDIS PRECIP WATER VALUES MOVING
NWD INTO SRN AZ...W OF NOGALES. NOGALES DEW POINTS ALSO RISING.
STRONG TSTMS CONTINUING IN S CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY. SO PERHAPS THE
SURGE IS STILL ACTIVE...JUST NOT REFLECTED IN THE YUMA OBS.
UPDATED AND KEPT TSTMS IN WRN ZONES OVERNIGHT.  SUN...UPPER LEVEL
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER CA MOVES EWD. THIS PRODUCES A COUPLE
DEGREES COOLING AT 500 MB MAINLY FAR WRN ZONE. THIS WILL STEEPEN
LAPSE RATES.  MID LEVEL WINDS TURN SLY AND ALL MODELS INCREASING
MOISTURE.  ADDS UP TO INCREASING TSTM POTENITAL. ON MON UPPER
LEVEL WINDS BECOME MORE SWLY...BUT WITH WEAK LOW LEVEL WINDS
MOISTURE TO HANG AROUND. SCATTERED TSTMS GOOD.  UPPER LEVEL
MOISTURE NEAR 20N 115W MOVING NWD AND MAY AFFECT SRN AZ.
TUS 0453.

TUS...NONE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 7:29 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima51 min
Aug 17, 10:16 AM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPinal49 min
Aug 17, 10:52 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPinal93 min
Aug 17, 11:06 AM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPinal64 min
Aug 17, 12:30 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPinal95 min
Aug 17, 12:47 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPinal43 min
Aug 17, 1:58 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise62 min
Aug 17, 1:58 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise62 min
Aug 17, 2:18 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima92 min
Aug 17, 2:18 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima92 min
Aug 17, 3:05 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise45 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.