Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 75, NWS Tucson, AZ
NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 17, 1997, 12:47 PM MST for Pinal County, Arizona. It was in force for 43 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, 12:47 PM MST (19:47 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 17, 1997, 1:30 PM MST
- In force
- 43 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 19:48 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, 7.8 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 961 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -43 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1293 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 11 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -8 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 162 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 171947 RRA SVRTUS AZC021-172030- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 1247 PM MST SUN AUG 17 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON AZ HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 130 PM MST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA ...SOUTHEASTERN PINAL COUNTY AT 1245 PM MST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN THE VICINITY OF ORACLE MOVING NORTH AT 15 MPH. THIS STORM WAS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...3/4 INCH HAIL...AND RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO TWO INCHES PER HOUR. 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 Aug 17, 9:00 AM MST, 3 hours 47 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 17, 9:00 AM MST, 3 hours 47 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 900 AM MST SUN AUG 17 1997 MSTR CONTG TO INCR ACRS CWFA...SLY FLOW HAS SET IN ONCE AGN. STG DEWPTS NR MID 60S...1.52 PW MIGHTY HEFTY. EVEN TOO MUCH RIGHT NOW AS CLD COVER CONTS TO SPREAD THRU THE AREA...WITH SOME MID/UPR LVL TROPICAL MSTR STREAMING INTO US FROM ACRS BAJA AS WELL (FROM STRENGTHENING TD GETTING CAUGHT UP IN FLOW). AT LEAST A DELAY IN HEATING THIS MRNG...BUT I WOULD EXPECT ENOUGH BRKS BY THIS AFTN TO CATCH UP A BIT AND REACH CONVECTIVE LVLS...LWR 90S AROUND TUS SHOULD DO IT WITH HELP DISCUSSED BELOW. WELL NEED SOME SUN TO REALLY REACH TDAS STRONG POTENTIAL. UPR LOW OFF SRN CA CST HASNT MADE AS MUCH PROGRESS EWD...AND MAY BE A LTL TOO FAR W FOR MUCH OF OUR PURPOSES TO BEGIN WITH. IMPLS BURIED IN SLY FLOW STREAMING INTO US NOW THOUGH...THAT SHOULD HELP. ALREADY SEEING ISOLD SHWRS/TSTMS. SO MUCH MSTR THAT IF WE FIRE TDA FLASH FLOODING IS A CONCERN WITH VERY WET STORMS. 12Z TUS ROAB HAS PLENTY OF POTENTIAL FOR ALL KINDS OF STUFF. A FEW 1ST PD ADJUSTMENTS ERYR (MORE LATER A STG POSSIBILITY)...GOING TO RIDE HEAVILY WORDED FCST FOR NOW WITH EXPECTATIONS OF THINGS TO COME. GETTING THAT SCARED SMALL FORREST CREATURE FEELING GOING AGN. TUS 443. MEYER TUS...NONE
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 17, 11:28 AM MST, 1 hour 19 minutes before
AZZ019-026>030-172300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST SUN AUG 17 1997...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED
...MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MOST OF SOUTHEAST
ARIZONA TODAY...
AREAL PROBABILITY RAIN GREATER THAN STORM
COVERAGE OF SEVERE 1.00 2.00 MOTION
COCHISE 50 50 70 30 N 10
GRAHAM 50 50 70 25 N 10
GREENLEE 70 30 60 5 N 10
TUCSON/ERN PIMA 50 50 70 30 N 10
TOHONO OODHAM 40 60 60 30 N 10
WESTERN PIMA 30 60 40 10 N 10
SOUTHEAST PINAL 50 60 70 30 N 10
SANTA CRUZ 50 50 70 25 N 10
SYNOPSIS...
A DISTURBED MOIST SOUTHERLY FLOW HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS SOUTHEAST
ARIZONA AS AN UPPER LEVEL LOW NEAR THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
COAST MOVES INLAND. CLOUD COVER WITH SOUTHERLY MOISTURE FLOW AND
HIGH LEVEL MOISTURE FROM THE TROPICS WILL DELAY SOME DEVELOPMENT
TODAY. STRONG TO SEVERE AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE
ANYWHERE ACROSS SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DUE
TO THE VERY MOIST ATMOSPHERE...SOME OF THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL
PRODUCE RAINFALL AMOUNTS OVER TWO INCHES.
*****************************************************************
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/MEYERThe office that day
Everything else NWS Tucson, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 7:29 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 51 min |
| Aug 17, 1:25 AM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pinal | 60 min |
| Aug 17, 10:16 AM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pinal | 49 min |
| Aug 17, 10:52 AM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pinal | 93 min |
| Aug 17, 11:06 AM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pinal | 64 min |
| Aug 17, 12:30 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pinal | 95 min |
| Aug 17, 1:58 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Cochise | 62 min |
| Aug 17, 1:58 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Cochise | 62 min |
| Aug 17, 2:18 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima | 92 min |
| Aug 17, 2:18 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 92 min |
| Aug 17, 3:05 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Cochise | 45 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.