Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 56, NWS Phoenix, AZ
NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 12, 1998, 6:10 PM MST for Maricopa County, Arizona. It was in force for 45 min. 2 reports 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 12, 1998, 6:10 PM MST (01:10 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 12, 1998, 6:55 PM MST
- In force
- 45 min
- Issued by
- NWS Phoenix, AZ
- Area
- Whole counties
County Maricopa County, AZ
The radar
The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:13 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 6:12 PM MST | Thunderstorm Wind 65 | Wickenburg, AZ | A strong to severe complex of storms formed northeast of Wickenburg and moved to the southwest and intensified. The storms produced severe damage to at least 2 aircraft at the Wickenburg airport. About 6 power poles were blown down, and evaporative coolers wer |
| Aug 12, 6:30 PM MST | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Tempe, AZ | Large tree limbs downed by winds near Broadway and Rural. Numerous streets in Tempe flooded. |
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 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 198 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
- 245 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -38 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2671 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 6 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -11 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -3 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
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.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 12, 4:00 PM MST, 2 hours 10 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 400 PM MST WED AUG 12 1998 AZZ021>023-026>028-131200- MARICOPA-NORTHWEST PINAL-LA PAZ-YUMA- ...MODERATE TO HIGH RISK OF HAZARDOUS WEATHER LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT IN LA PAZ...YUMA...MARICOPA...AND NORTHWEST PINAL COUNTIES. A LINE OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM WERE MOVING SOUTHWEST TOWARD THE LOWER DESERTS. THE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST DESERTS IS VERY UNSTABLE. THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO THE DESERTS THIS EVENING HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR PRODUCING VERY STRONG POSSIBLY DAMAGING WINDS...INTENSE LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. THE MODERATE TO HIGH RISK OF HAZARDOUS WEATHER INCLUDES ALL OF THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA... FLORENCE...CASA GRANDE...GILA BEND... WICKENBURG...AND OTHER LOCATIONS IN YUMA AND LA PAZ COUNTIES. STAY TUNED TO THE LATEST FORECASTS AND UPDATES CONCERNING THIS APPROACHING WEATHER. TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. ********************************************************************* HAZARDOUS WEATHER REFERS TO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING... 1) LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL RESULTING IN FLASH FLOODING OR FLOODING 2) SAND OR DUST STORM REDUCING VISIBILITY TO 1/4 MILE OR LESS 3) DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 57 MPH 4) HAIL 3/4 INCH OR LARGER IN DIAMETER CHECK THE PHOENIX STATE FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR MORE INFORMATION. HV
Special weather statement, Aug 12, 4:00 PM MST, 2 hours 10 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 400 PM MST WED AUG 12 1998 AZZ021>023-026>028-131200- MARICOPA-NORTHWEST PINAL-LA PAZ-YUMA- ...MODERATE TO HIGH RISK OF HAZARDOUS WEATHER LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT IN LA PAZ...YUMA...MARICOPA...AND NORTHWEST PINAL COUNTIES. A LINE OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM WERE MOVING SOUTHWEST TOWARD THE LOWER DESERTS. THE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST DESERTS IS VERY UNSTABLE. THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO THE DESERTS THIS EVENING HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR PRODUCING VERY STRONG POSSIBLY DAMAGING WINDS...INTENSE LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. THE MODERATE TO HIGH RISK OF HAZARDOUS WEATHER INCLUDES ALL OF THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA... FLORENCE...CASA GRANDE...GILA BEND... WICKENBURG...AND OTHER LOCATIONS IN YUMA AND LA PAZ COUNTIES. STAY TUNED TO THE LATEST FORECASTS AND UPDATES CONCERNING THIS APPROACHING WEATHER. TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. ********************************************************************* HAZARDOUS WEATHER REFERS TO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING... 1) LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL RESULTING IN FLASH FLOODING OR FLOODING 2) SAND OR DUST STORM REDUCING VISIBILITY TO 1/4 MILE OR LESS 3) DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 57 MPH 4) HAIL 3/4 INCH OR LARGER IN DIAMETER CHECK THE PHOENIX STATE FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR MORE INFORMATION. HV
The office that day
Everything else NWS Phoenix, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 6:07 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 48 min |
| Aug 12, 6:15 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 65 min |
| Aug 12, 6:55 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 50 min |
| Aug 12, 7:16 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 94 min |
| Aug 12, 7:42 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 48 min |
| Aug 12, 8:29 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | La Paz | 46 min |
| Aug 12, 10:43 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Yuma | 92 min |
| Aug 13, 4:12 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 48 min |
| Aug 12, 9:34 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Riverside | 46 min |
| Aug 12, 10:22 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Imperial, Riverside | 63 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 1998Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1998
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.