Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 78, NWS Tucson, AZ
NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 20, 1997, 3:46 PM MST for Cochise County, Arizona. It was in force for 64 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 20, 1997, 3:46 PM MST (22:46 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 20, 1997, 4:50 PM MST
- In force
- 64 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tucson, AZ
- Area
- Whole counties
County Cochise County, AZ
The radar
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:49 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, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 113 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
- 32 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -305 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2416 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 7 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 36 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 119 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 202248 RRA SVRTUS AZC003-202350- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 346 PM MST WED AUG 20 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON AZ HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 450 PM MST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA ...SOUTHERN COCHISE COUNTY AT 345 PM MST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 11 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF BISBEE MOVING WEST AT 10 MPH.
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 20, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 16 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 16 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 230 PM MST WED AUG 20 1997 CONVECTION SLOW TO DVLP BUT NOW FIRING OVR MTNS THRU SE AZ...EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE IS ACTION TO OUR E IN NM...WATCH FOR EVE OUTFLOWS. SHOULD SEE MORE ACTIVITY THIS EVE WITH POTENTIAL FOR A VALLEY STORMS HERE. MSTR STILL NOT THE BEST BUT THIS WILL CHG OVR THE NEXT 48 HRS AS SELY FLOW OUT OF MEX GOING AGN (RDG TO THE E). GLF SURGE BCMG A VIABLE OPTION WITH ORGANIZED TSTM DVLPMT TO SEND OUTFLOW THRU GLF AND SYNOPTIC FLOW BCMS FAVORABLE TO HELP THINGS ALONG. OUTFLOW FROM COMPLEXES IN NW MEX AND NM COULD ALSO BE A CONTRIBUTOR...ALONG WITH WK IMPL BURIED IN ELY FLOW WRAPPING INTO OUR AREA. CONTG FCST TREND OF INCRG TSTMS WITH BETTER STORMS THIS EVE AND TMW A GOOD SOLID DAY. TEMPS SHOULD MODERATE A BIT WITH INCRG MSTR. TUS 3343. MEYER TUS...NONE
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 20, 12:12 PM MST, 3 hours 34 minutes before
AZZ019-026>030-192300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST WED AUG 20 1997...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED
AREAL PROBABILITY RAIN GREATER THAN STORM
COVERAGE OF SEVERE 1.00 2.00 MOTION
COCHISE 40 30 40 20 W 10
GRAHAM 25 15 15 10 NW 8
GREENLEE 30 15 10 5 SW 8
TUCSON/ERN PIMA 25 15 20 10 NW 8
TOHONO OODHAM 15 10 20 5 NW 8
WESTERN PIMA 10 10 10 2 NW 8
SOUTHEAST PINAL 10 10 15 5 NW 8
SANTA CRUZ 40 35 40 20 NW 10
SYNOPSIS...MOISTURE SPREADING NORTHWARD FROM MEXICO WILL ALLOW
SCATTERED STORMS TO DEVELOP MAINLY NEAR THE MEXICAN BORDER...AND
THEN SPREAD NORTHWARD LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING. LOCALLY
HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG WIND IS MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR NEAR THE
MEXICAN BORDER WHERE MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL BE GREATEST.
*****************************************************************
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/MEYERSpecial weather statement, Aug 20, 12:56 PM MST, 2 hours 50 minutes before
AZZ019-026>030-202300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST WED AUG 20 1997...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED
AREAL PROBABILITY RAIN GREATER THAN STORM
COVERAGE OF SEVERE 1.00 2.00 MOTION
COCHISE 40 30 40 20 W 10
GRAHAM 25 15 15 10 NW 8
GREENLEE 30 15 10 5 SW 8
TUCSON/ERN PIMA 25 15 20 10 NW 8
TOHONO OODHAM 15 10 20 5 NW 8
WESTERN PIMA 10 10 10 2 NW 8
SOUTHEAST PINAL 10 10 15 5 NW 8
SANTA CRUZ 40 35 40 20 NW 10
SYNOPSIS...MOISTURE SPREADING NORTHWARD FROM MEXICO WILL ALLOW
SCATTERED STORMS TO DEVELOP MAINLY NEAR THE MEXICAN BORDER...AND
THEN SPREAD NORTHWARD LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING. LOCALLY
HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG WIND IS MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR NEAR THE
MEXICAN BORDER WHERE MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL BE GREATEST.
*****************************************************************
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/MEYERLocal storm report, Aug 20, 1:37 PM MST, 2 hours 9 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
137 PM MST WED AUG 20 1997
TIME(MST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0911 AM TUBAC AZ
08/20/97 SANTA CRUZ THIS IS ONLY A TESTLocal storm report, Aug 20, 1:39 PM MST, 2 hours 7 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
137 PM MST WED AUG 20 1997
TIME(MST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0911 AM TUBAC AZ
08/20/97 SANTA CRUZ THIS IS ONLY A TESTNearby
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.