Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 81, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 23, 1997Cochise County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 23, 1997, 4:25 PM MST for Cochise County, Arizona. It was in force for 45 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 23, 1997, 4:25 PM MST (23:25 UTC)
Expired
Aug 23, 1997, 5:10 PM MST
In force
45 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 23:25 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, 11.4 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tuscon, AZ at 12:00Z on 1997-08-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 474 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 1997-08-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -18 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
474 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-193 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2261 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-18 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
71 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 232325 RRA
SVRTUS
AZC003-240010-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
425 PM MST SAT AUG 23 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON AZ HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 510 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA

   ...NORTHERN COCHISE COUNTY
 
AT 424 PM MST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5
MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF WILFLCOX MOVING EAST AT 5 MPH.
 
MEYER

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 23, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 55 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
230 PM MST SAT AUG 23 1997

HI PRES ALF OVR SE AZ THIS AFTN. VRY LITTLE VERTICAL WND SHEAR TO
WORK WITH...THEREFORE TS TO BE PULSE TYPE WITH LITTLE MOVMNT.
OUTFLOW BNDRIES ARE ALLOWG SOME TS TO PROPOGATE INTO THE LWR
VLYS.

HI CNTR SHIFTS NEWD TO A MORE FAVORABLE LOCATION IN RESPONSE TO
A STG TROF PUSHG INTO THE PAC NW. STGR SELY FLOW TO DVLP SUN AND
MON WITH AN UPSWING IN MONSOON ACTIVITY ANTICIPATED. WL GO WITH
ONLY A MODEST INCRS IN POPS ON THE COUNT OF TWO COMPETING
FACTORS. H5 HGTS LWR OVR THE SIERRA MADRE WHICH SHOULD ALLOW
AFTN/EVE MCS DVLPMNT. HWVR THE INFLUX OF MID LVL DRY AIR FM SWLY
FLOW ACRS NW AZ DURG THE PD MAY LIMIT THE EXTENT OF DP MSTR
NECESSARY FOR A REAL ACTIVE MONSOON PATTERN.

A STGR TROF TO MOV INTO THE PAC NW BY MID WEEK. MODELS DIFFER
SOMEWHAT ON THE POSTN OF THE HI ALF. ECMWF DEPICTS A DRIER
SCENARIO THE MRF. AGREE WITH PHX THAT A STANDARD LOW GRADE
MONSOON LOOKS GOOD. TUS 3233. OKULSKI

TUS...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 23, 11:43 AM MST, 4 hours 42 minutes before
AZZ019-026>030-232300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST SAT AUG 23 1997...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED

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

COCHISE          40          30          60         20     S   5
GRAHAM           40          30          60         20     E   5
GREENLEE         40          20          60         20     E   5
TUCSON/ERN PIMA  30          20          40         10     E   5
TOHONO OODHAM   20          10          20         10     S   5
WESTERN PIMA     20          10          20         10     W   5
SOUTHEAST PINAL  20          10          30         10     E   5
SANTA CRUZ       40          30          60         10     S   5

SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL REMAIN OVER SOUTHEAST ARIZONA
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SHORT DURATION...SLOW MOVING
THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AND BE MOST
NUMEROUS NEAR THE BORDERS OF NEW MEXICO AND MEXICO. THE LOWER
LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE REMAIN MOIST AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
CAN EXPECTED WITH STRONGER STORMS.
*****************************************************************
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/OKULSKI

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 23, 1:48 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise32 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.