Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 82, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 23, 1997Pinal County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 23, 1997, 6:18 PM MST for Pinal County, Arizona. It was in force for 62 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, 6:18 PM MST (01:18 UTC)
Expired
Aug 23, 1997, 7:20 PM MST
In force
62 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 01:21 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, 1.3 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 1997-08-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 516 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 1997-08-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 37 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
516 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-42 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2990 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
56 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 240118 RRA
SVRTUS
AZC021-240220-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON AZ HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 720 PM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

   ...CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY
 
AT 617 PM MST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
5 MILES SOUTH OF CASA GRANDE MOVING NORTH AT 5 MILES PER HOUR. THIS
STORM WILL AFFECT CASA GRANDE...ARIZONA CITY...CHUICHU  AND
PORTIONS OF INTERSTATE 8.

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, 3 hours 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 2:30 PM MST, 3 hours 48 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.

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.