Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 53, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 6, 1998Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 6, 1998, 2:44 AM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 61 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 6, 1998, 2:44 AM MST (09:44 UTC)
Expired
Aug 6, 1998, 3:45 AM MST
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Whole counties

County Pima County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 112 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:44 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, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 84 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 1998-08-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.1000850700500300200100-30°-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 1998-08-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 41 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
7202 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
41 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
97 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.

741 
WUUS1 KTUS 060945 RRA
SVRTUS
AZC019-061045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
244 AM MST THU AUG 6 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN PIMA COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA

* UNTIL 345 AM MST

* AT 243 AM MST... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORMS MOVING OUT OF SOUTHWEST MARICOPA COUNTY AND INTO
  WESTERN PIMA COUNTY. THE STRONGEST STORM WAS ABOUT 15 MILES
  NORTHEAST OF AJO. STORM MOVEMENT WAS TO THE SOUTHWEST AT ABOUT 15
  MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  AJO                      BY 320 AM MST

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 6, 2:30 AM MST, 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 6, 2:30 AM MST, 14 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
230 AM MST THU AUG 6 1998

SYNOPSIS...SUFFICIENT MOISTURE HAS MOVED BACK INTO SOUTHEAST ARIZONA
TO COMBINE WITH DAYTIME HEATING AND PRODUCE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
WILL DEVELOP EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

DISCUSSION...AS STATED LAST NIGHT...ITS BACK. TRAINING LED TO
EXTREMELY HEAVY RAINFALL IN SEVERAL AREAS LAST NIGHT WITH SEVERE
ALSO A PROBLEM. NOT REALLY A CLASSIC SITUATION FOR THIS TIME OF
YEAR...STRONG FLOW OUT OF THE NORTH AND NORTHEAST BRINGING IN PATCHY
MOISTURE BETWEEN SYNOPTIC FEATURES (DEEPEST MOISTURE STILL REALLY TO
OUR SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST)...BUT COMBINED WITH RECIRCULATED MOISTURE
AROUND HERE WILL ALLOW FOR SOME STORMS. NORTHERN MEXICO NOT AS
ORGANIZED...SO NO LOW LEVEL INFLUXES FROM THERE RIGHT NOW. SURGE
SIGNATURES INDICATED THROUGH YUMA...BUT STRONG LOW LEVEL EASTERLY
FLOW WONT ALLOW THAT DOWN OUT OF THE LOWER DESERTS FOR US THE NEXT
18 TO 24 HRS. AREAS OF COOLER AIR ALOFT AND WEAK IMPULSES ALSO
EVIDENT IN NORTHERLY FLOW. PATCHY MOISTURE WITH STEEP LAPSE RATES
AND GOOD SHEAR STILL MAKE OUR MAIN CONCERN SEVERE TODAY (ALTHOUGH
ISOLATED AREAS OF TRAINING STORMS AGAIN NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION FOR
FLOODING PROBLEMS).

PATTERN IS COMPLEX. LOOKING AT 700MB...ETA KEEPS EVIDENCE OF THETA-E
RIDGE OVER SOUTHEAST ARIZONA AND EVEN SPINS UP SOME FEATURES TO
ALLOW MOISTURE TO CIRCULATE FROM THE LOWER DESERTS...BUT NOT DOING A
GREAT JOB WITH THE OVERALL MOISTURE PICTURE (UNDERDOING NEW
MEXICO). HIGH CENTER IN NO IMMEDIATE HURRY TO SHIFT INTO 4 CORNER
REGION YET WITH TROUGH STALLED TEMPORARILY IN THE MIDWEST.

WHENEVER I GO ON THIS LONG IT MEANS IM NOT SURE ABOUT ANYTHING.
FORECAST FOR THE NEXT 24 HRS SIMILAR TO THE LAST...THAT IS STORM
COVERAGE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED...BUT THE ONES WE DO GET WILL BE
DOOZIES. UPSTREAM FLOW OUT OF NEW MEXICO NOT THAT WET AT THIS
TIME...REAL LINK UP AGAIN WITH MEXICAN MONSOON MOISTURE BY THIS
WEEKEND. TUS 343. MEYER

.TWC...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 5, 10:49 PM MST, 3 hours 55 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
1049 PM MST WED AUG 05 1998

TIME(MST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0545 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   .75 INCH HAIL
08/05/98   PIMA                           NORTHEAST TUCSON

0550 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   .75 INCH HAIL
08/05/98   PIMA                           SANTA CATALINA FOOTHILLS
                                          WIND GUST OVER 50 MPH

0553 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   .75 INCH HAIL
08/05/98   PIMA                           WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH
                                          4 TO 5 POUND TILES BLOWN
                                          OFF ROOFS

0555 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   1.5 INCH HAIL
08/05/98   PIMA                           1/4 MILE NORTH OF SWAN AND
                                          SUNRISE

0558 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   1 INCH HAIL
08/05/98   PIMA                           ACE HARDWARE ON SWAN

0708 PM    VAIL                      AZ   70 MPH TSTM GUST
08/05/98   PIMA                           15 N OF SONOITA ON HIGHWAY
                                          83 IN SOUTHEAST PIMA
                                          COUNTY
Local storm report, Aug 5, 10:49 PM MST, 3 hours 55 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
1049 PM MST WED AUG 05 1998

TIME(MST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0545 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   .75 INCH HAIL
08/05/98   PIMA                           NORTHEAST TUCSON

0550 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   .75 INCH HAIL
08/05/98   PIMA                           SANTA CATALINA FOOTHILLS
                                          WIND GUST OVER 50 MPH

0553 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   .75 INCH HAIL
08/05/98   PIMA                           WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH
                                          4 TO 5 POUND TILES BLOWN
                                          OFF ROOFS

0555 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   1.5 INCH HAIL
08/05/98   PIMA                           1/4 MILE NORTH OF SWAN AND
                                          SUNRISE

0558 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   1 INCH HAIL
08/05/98   PIMA                           ACE HARDWARE ON SWAN

0708 PM    VAIL                      AZ   70 MPH TSTM GUST
08/05/98   PIMA                           15 N OF SONOITA ON HIGHWAY
                                          83 IN SOUTHEAST PIMA
                                          COUNTY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 5, 5:24 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima2 hr
Aug 5, 5:43 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima62 min
Aug 5, 6:38 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima52 min
Aug 5, 6:38 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima52 min
Aug 5, 7:20 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima, Santa Cruz75 min
Aug 5, 8:54 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima96 min
Aug 5, 11:56 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPinal49 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.