Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 61, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 10, 1998Cochise County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 10, 1998, 3:21 PM MST for Cochise County, Arizona. It was in force for 49 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 10, 1998, 3:21 PM MST (22:21 UTC)
Expired
Aug 10, 1998, 4:10 PM MST
In force
49 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 22:22 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 10, 3:48 PM MSTThunderstorm Wind 50Douglas Arpt, 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, 10.4 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 1998-08-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 36 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 1998-08-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -23 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
36 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-372 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1911 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-23 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-5 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.

330 
WUUS1 KTUS 102223 RRA
SVRTUS
AZC003-102310-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
321 PM MST MON AUG 10 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTH CENTRAL COCHISE COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA

* UNTIL 410 PM MST

* AT 321 PM MST... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
  EAST OF NACO OR ABOUT 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BISBEE. THIS STORM
  WAS MOVING SLOWLY TOWARD THE NORTHWEST AT LESS THAN 10 MPH.

JD

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 10, 2:30 PM MST, 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 10, 2:30 PM MST, 51 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
230 PM MST MON AUG 10 1998

SYNOPSIS...PLENTY OF MOISTURE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE ACROSS SOUTHEAST
ARIZONA FOR MORE SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING
THUNDERSTORMS.

DISCUSSION...CLOUDS HAVE SLOWED TEMP WARMING ACROSS PARTS OF THE
AREA AND MORE MOISTURE HAS WORKED INTO ERN ZONES. APPEARS STORMS
DEVELOPING IN ERN ZONES WILL PROPOGATE WWD...BUT THIS WILL BE SLOW
WITH PRECIP MOVG INTO TUS LATER THIS EVENING. SO WARM/MOIST ON
DESERTS IT MAY JUST KEEP ON MOVING OUT TO DESERTS. OTHER COMPLEX
MOVG NWD ALONG EAST COAST OF BAJA MAY MOVE UP TOWARDS AJO LATE THIS
AFTN.

THREAT IS BOTH HEAVY RAIN AND SEVERE WNDS...AS WAS WITNESSED LAST
NIGHT AT TUS.

AS FAR NEXT FEW DAYS MODELS TRY TO PUSH BACK DOOR FRONT INTO NM ON
WED...MSTR REMAINS THE SAME SO MEDIUM GRADE MONSOON FCST FOR ALL OF
SE AZ. TUS 4443. HOLBROOK

.TWC...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 10, 12:45 PM MST, 2 hours 36 minutes before
AZZ019-029>035-110700-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1245 PM MST SUN AUG 10 1998...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED

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

COCHISE          25          10          15         10      W  10
GRAHAM           20          10          15         10      W  10
GREENLEE         50          10          20         15      W  10
TUCSON/ERN PIMA  50          20          40         25      NW 10
TOHONO OODHAM   50          20          40         25      NW 10
WESTERN PIMA     40          20          40         20      NW 10
SOUTHEAST PINAL  40          15          30         15      NW 10
SANTA CRUZ       60          20          50         25      NW 10

SYNOPSIS...PLENTY OF MOISTURE IN PLACE FOR ANOTHER ACTIVE MONSOON
DAY. PREVIOUS DAYS ACTIVITY WILL DELAY START OF STORMS SOME BUT
EXPECT STORMS TO DEVELOP ON MOUNTAINS AND MOVE INTO VALLEYS LATE IN
THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
*****************************************************************
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 12:45 PM 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. CORRESPONDING GRAPHICS MAY BE FOUND ON THE NWS
TUCSON INTERNET PAGE AT
HTTP://NIMBO.WRH.NOAA.GOV/TUCSON/SWO/SWO.SHTML

END/VPH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 9, 5:40 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise, Pima45 min
Aug 9, 6:26 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima49 min
Aug 9, 7:14 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima46 min
Aug 9, 7:31 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima94 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.