Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1999

Flash Flood Warning 1, NWS Tucson, AZ

July 5, 1999Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Jul 5, 1999, 12:38 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 92 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
Jul 5, 1999, 12:38 PM MST (19:38 UTC)
Expired
Jul 5, 1999, 2:10 PM MST
In force
92 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 19:37 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 12:00Z, 7.6 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 12:00Z on 1999-07-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 26 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 1999-07-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -9 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
26 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-296 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2467 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-9 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-9 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 051936
FFWTUS
AZC019-052110-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1238 PM MST MON JUL 5 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN PIMA COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA
  INCLUDING SUMMERHAVEN AND CATALINA STATE PARK.

* UNTIL 210 PM MST

* AT 1230 PM MST... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN NEAR AND NORTH OF
  SUMMERHAVEN...MOVING SLOWLY NORTHWEST.

* EXPECT RAINFALL AMOUNTS NEAR 2 INCHES IN SOME LOCATIONS AROUND
  CATALINA STATE PARK. FLOODING OF STREAMBEDS AND WASHES CAN BE
  EXPECTED...AVOID NARROW CANYON AREAS.

THIS FLASH FLOOD WARNVING DOES NOT INCLUDE METROPOLITAN TUCSON.

WJM

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 flash flood warning went out at Jul 5, 9:30 AM MST, 3 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 5, 9:30 AM MST, 3 hours 8 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
930 AM MST MON JUL 5 1999

SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL MOVE TO THE FOUR CORNERS AREA
TONIGHT. THIS PATTERN WILL REMAIN THROUGH THE WEEK...AND WILL
CONTINUE TO BRING MOISTURE INTO SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. EXPECT
SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS...BUT A
FEW STORMS SHOULD LINGER INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

DISCUSSION...12Z TUCSON SOUNDING LOOKING BETTER TODAY...ENOUGH OF A
VERTICAL PROFILE FOR A LITTLE BETTER ORGANIZATION. SOUTHEASTERLY TO
EASTERLY FLOW INCREASING AS LARGE SCALE PATTERN SETS UP WITH A HIGH
NEAR THE 4 CORNERS. WEAK INVERTED TROUGH / MID LEVEL DISTURBANCE
IN THE DEVELOPING EASTERLIES COULD ENHANCE THINGS THIS AFTERNOON.
PLENTY OF MOISTURE WITH PW VALUES ABOVE 1.3. NICE 700MB THETA-E
PATTERN SETTING UP OVER THE AREA FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT 36 HRS.
DEBRIS CLOUD SCATTERING OUT NICELY SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET
GOOD SURFACE HEATING. A TOUCH FURTHER WEST WE ARE FIGHTING A WEAK
DRY SLOT WHERE FAR NORTHWEST MEXICO WAS A LITTLE LESS ACTIVE OVER
THE PAST 36 HRS. ANYWAY...I LIKE THE CURRENT FORECAST WITH A BUSY
MID TO LATE AFTERNOON / EVENING AND A TREND TO SPREAD THUNDERSTORMS
SLOWLY WEST. MORE EFFICIENT PROCESSES WITH THUNDERSTORMS TODAY WILL
HAVE US WATCHING OUTFLOWS MORE CLOSELY ALONG WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS
AND THE POTENTIAL OF SEVERE WINDS. NO UPDATES PLANNED. MEYER

.TWC...NONE.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 5, 12:38 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCSanta Cruz32 min
Jul 5, 1:03 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPinal42 min
Jul 5, 2:43 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCGreenlee47 min
Jul 5, 2:50 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima65 min
Jul 5, 3:18 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima92 min
Jul 5, 3:39 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima, Santa Cruz61 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 1999Every flash flood warning in 1999

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.