Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 1999

Flash Flood Warning 20, NWS Tucson, AZ

July 25, 1999Cochise County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Jul 25, 1999, 12:24 PM MST for Cochise 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
Jul 25, 1999, 12:24 PM MST (19:24 UTC)
Expired
Jul 25, 1999, 1:25 PM MST
In force
61 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 19:28 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, 7.4 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 1999-07-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 454 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 1999-07-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 2 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
454 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-88 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1482 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
32 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 251920
FFWTUS
AZC003-252025-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1224 PM MST SUN JUL 25 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL COCHISE COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA
  INCLUDING THE CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL MONUMENT

* UNTIL 125 PM MST

* AT 1215 PM...RADAR RAINFALL ESTIMATES AND SPOTTER REPORTS
  INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN ALONG THE CHIRICAHUA
  MOUNTAINS...MOVING SLOWLY NORTH.

* BETWEEN 2 AND 3 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN ON THE CHIRIACHUA
  MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 1030 AND AND NOON. CAMPGROUNDS IN THE NATIONAL
  FOREST AREA WERE BEING EVACUATED DUE TO RAPIDLY RISING WATERH.

MOVE AWAY FROM CREEKS AND STREAMS IMMEDIATELY. EVEN THOUGH THE
HEAVY RAINS WERE TAPERING OFF...CONTINUED RUNOFF FROM THE MOUNTAINS
MAY CAUSE ADDITIONAL FLOODING.

PYTLAK

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 25, 9:30 AM MST, 2 hours 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 25, 9:30 AM MST, 2 hours 54 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
930 AM MST SUN JUL 25 1999

SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT SHIFTING WESTWARD FROM THE CENTRAL
PLAINS TO NEAR THE 4 CORNERS AREA BY MONDAY. REMAINS OF THE
EASTERLY WAVE THAT PUSHED THROUGH YESTERDAY NOW EXTENDS FROM EXTREME
SOUTHWEST ARIZONA NORTHEAST TO 4 CORNERS AREA. SOUTHEAST ARIZONA HAS
CLEARED OUT CONSIDERABLY THIS MORNING IN THE WAKE OF YESTERDAYS
ACTIVITY. SATELLITE IMAGE SHOWS SOME DRIER AIR MOVING SOUTHWEST INTO
NORTHERN GREENLEE COUNTY. THIS CONSISTENT WITH THE LITTLE CONVECTION
THIS AREA RECEIVED YESTERDAY. THUS LIKELY SEE EVEN LESS CONVECTIVE
ACTIVITY EASTERN SECTIONS TODAY. LIKELY SEE SOME INCREASE IN STORM
ACTIVITY MONDAY AS UPPER HIGH GETS CLOSER AND LIKLY SMALL INCREASE
IN MID/UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE FROM EAST.

DISCUSSION...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA STARTING OUT THIS MORNING WITH MOSTLY
CLEAR SKIES. SHOULD SEE FAIRLY RAPID HEATING HEATING.
HOWEVER...PLENTY OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND CLOUDS ALREADY FORMING
NEAR MOUNTAINS. ONCE TEMPERATURE GETS PAST MID 80S IT WILL BE SLOW
GOING AS CONVECTIVE CLOUDS INCREASE. WINDS ALOFT CHANGED
CONSIDERABLY FROM YESTERDAY. THE LIGHT WINDS OF YESTERDAY ARE NOW
MODERATE STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS ABOVE 30K FEET. THESE WINDS WILL
HELP TO PUT A CIRUS CAP OVER THE DESERTS FROM STORMS THAT DEVELOP
OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF EXTREME SOUTHERN ARIZONA.

BOTTOM LINE FOR TODAY IS FEWER STORMS. STILL EXPECT SOME OF THE
STORMS TO BE STRONG ENOUGH TO DROP IN EXCESS OF AN INCH/HOUR BUT NOT
NEARLY AS MANY OF THEM AS YESTERDAY.

LONGER TERM EXPECT AN INCREASE IN ACTIVITY MORE LIKELY TUESDAY THAN
MONDAY. MONDAY COULD SEE AN INCREASE FROM TODAY BUT TUESDAY MAY BE
EVEN STRONGER AS 4 CORNERS HIGH GETS MORE ESTABLISHED OPENING UP THE
WAY FOR ANOTHER EASTERLY WAVE. BEYOND THAT NO TREND EXCEPT THAT LOW
LEVEL MOISTURE WILL REMAIN. SO SOME DAYS WILL BE MORE ACTIVE THAN
OTHERS BUT SOUTHERN ARIZONA WILL LIKELY SEE THUNDERSTORMS EVERY DAY
THROUGH THIS WEEK.                          PRF

.TWC...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 25, 11:20 AM MST, 1 hour 4 minutes before
AZZ019-029>035-260500-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1120 AM MST SUN JUL 25 1999...THIS PRODUCT IS NOT UPDATED

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

COCHISE             35          20         20        10     NNW12
GRAHAM              35          20         25        10     NNW12
GREENLEE            40          20         30        15     NNW12
TUCSON/ERN PIMA     30          30         25        10     NNW15
TOHONO O'ODHAM      25          35         20        10     N15
SOUTHEAST PINAL     25          35         25        10     N15
WESTERN PIMA        20          40         20        10     N15
SANTA CRUZ          35          20         35        15     NNW12

SYNOPSIS...THE ATMOPSPHERE IS JUST AS MOIST AND EVEN MORE
UNSTABLE THAN YESTERDAY. HOWEVER...LIKE YESTERDAY THERE IS NO
DISTURBANCE TO FOCUS DEVELOPMENT. WIND FIELDS ARE A LITTLE
STRONGER THAN YESTERDAY WHICH REDUCES THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN
BUT INCREASES THE CHANCE OF ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. THE
STRONGER WINDS ALOFT SHOULD CAUSE THUNDERSTORM ANVILS TO SPREAD
OUT AND SUPPRESS STORM COVERAGE IN THE VALLEYS SOMEWHAT. THE
STORMS WILL DISSIPATE QUICKLY AFTER SUNSET DUE TO THE LACK OF
ORGANIZATION.

*****************************************************************
KEY...
AREAL COVERAGE - PERCENT OF COUNTY OR AREA THAT WILL EXPERIENCE
                 THUNDERSTORMS
PROB OF SEVERE - THE PROBABILITY THAT AN INDIVIDUAL STORM WILL
                 REACH SEVERE LEVELS (DAMAGING WIND AND/OR
                 LARGE HAIL)
RAIN GRTR THAN - THE PROBABILITY THAT AN INDIVIDUAL STORM 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/PYTLAK
CORRECTED TO ADD STORM MOTION

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 25, 1:18 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise67 min
Jul 25, 1:27 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima33 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.