Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 89, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 28, 1997Pima County, Santa Cruz County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 28, 1997, 2:07 PM MST for Pima County, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. It was in force for 88 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Aug 28, 1997, 2:07 PM MST (21:07 UTC)
Expired: Aug 28, 1997, 3:35 PM MST
In force: 88 min
Issued by: NWS Tucson, AZ
Area: Whole counties

Counties Pima County, AZ, Santa Cruz County, AZ

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 28, 3:30 PM MST	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Rio Rico, AZ

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 56 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 728 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -165 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1741 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 40 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 28, 2:06 PM MST, 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 28, 2:06 PM MST, 1 minute before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
230 PM MST THU AUG 28 1997

STORMS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING OVER SANTA CRUZ AND EASTERN PIMA
COUNTY. THESE ARE LARGE STORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL
REPORTED...BIG QUESTION IS WHETHER OR NOT STORMS WILL MAKE IT
INTO TUS. THE DESERTS WEST OF TUCSON ARE DEFINATELY FULL OF
MOISTURE AND THINGS OUGHT TO BE ACTIVE OUT THERE. IT LOOKS LIKE
IT WILL BE A BIG DAY TODAY AND THAT SHOULD MAKE TOMORROW LESS
ACTIVE...BUT STILL PLENTY OF MOISTURE AROUND FOR SCATTERED
TSTORMS. SATURDAY ABOUT THE SAME AS FRIDAY WITH LITTLE CHANGE IN
THE OVERALL PATTERN...DRYING FROM THE WEST WILL PROBABLY NOT MAKE
IT INTO OUR CWA UNTIL LATE IN THE WEEKEND...IF AT ALL.
TUS 4333. LUDWIG

TUS...NONE

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 28, 11:49 AM MST, 2 hours 18 minutes before

AZZ019-026>030-282300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST THU AUG 28 1997...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED

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

COCHISE          30          30          20          0     NW  10
GRAHAM           30          30          20          0     NW  10
GREENLEE         30          30          20          0     NW  10
TUCSON/ERN PIMA  30          40          40         20     NW  10
TOHONO OODHAM   30          40          50         20     N   10
WESTERN PIMA     30          40          50         20     N   10
SOUTHEAST PINAL  20          30          30         20     N   10
SANTA CRUZ       40          40          60         30     N   10

SYNOPSIS...SOUTHERLY WINDS OUT OF MEXICO HAVE BROUGHT MOIST AIR
TO MOST OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA...WITH MOST OF THE MOISTURE FROM
TUCSON WESTWARD. THE POTENTIAL FOR THUNDERSTORMS TODAY IN THE
TUCSON AND NOGALES AREAS IS GREATER THAN YESTERDAY. THE MAIN
THREAT TODAY WILL BE HEAVY RAINFALL AND LOCALIZED FLOODING.
*****************************************************************
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/LUDWIG

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 27, 6:32 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	78 min
Aug 27, 8:37 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	33 min
Aug 28, 1:15 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Santa Cruz	60 min
Aug 28, 1:22 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	48 min
Aug 28, 2:07 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	TWC	Pima, Santa Cruz	88 min
Aug 28, 4:39 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	TWC	Pinal	91 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 1997 Every 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.