Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 48, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 29, 2000Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 29, 2000, 3:25 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 35 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties.

The facts

Issued: Aug 29, 2000, 3:25 PM MST (22:25 UTC)
Expired: Aug 29, 2000, 4:00 PM MST
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Tucson, AZ
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Pima County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 48 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:27 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, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 11 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1231 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 14 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 10 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 
WUUS55 KTWC 292225
SVRTUS
AZC019-292245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
325 PM MST TUE AUG 29 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY IN ARIZONA...INCLUDING THE NORTHERN 
  HALF OF THE CITY OF TUCSON...

* UNTIL 400 PM MST

* AT 325 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER THE CITY OF TUCSON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 
MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...NORTH TUCSON...FOOTHILLS
AND NORTHEAST TUCSON BETWEEN 325 AND 400 PM...


REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN TUCSON.

LAT...LON 3225 11101 3215 11078 3229 11069 3240 11090

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 29, 2:00 PM MST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 29, 2:00 PM MST, 1 hour 25 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
200 PM MST TUE AUG 29 2000

SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER LEVEL WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE
AREA WEDNESDAY AND HELP ORGANIZE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING OVER SOUTHEAST ARIZONA.  A MORE FALL-LIKE
WEATHER PATTERN WILL ESTABLISH ITSELF IN THE WAKE OF THIS SYSTEM...
FOR A DRY LABOR DAY HOLIDAY WEEKEND.

DISCUSSION...SCATTERED STORMS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL DEVELOP
DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON...PRIMARILY WEST OF A SAFFORD
TO SIERRA VISTA LINE.  AS LARGE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CONSOLIDATES
ALONG THE WEST COAST WEDNESDAY...SHORT WAVE TROUGH FORECAST TO
EJECT FROM CLOSED UPPER CIRCULATION OVER BAJA AND MOVE NORTHEAST
ACROSS CWA.  STILL PLENTY OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WITH A UNIDIRECTIONAL
SHEAR PROFILE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP.  COULD SEE ORGANIZED CONVECTIVE
OUTBREAK WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM...MOVING INTO
THE WHITE MOUNTAINS AND EASTERN COCHISE COUNTY BY WEDNESDAY EVENING.
WILL STILL KEEP ISOLATED MOUNTAIN STORMS AROUND FOR THURSDAY AS SOME
LOW LEVEL MOISTURE MAY LINGER IN THE AREA...BUT BY FRIDAY EXPECT
MOST OF THE AREAi SHOULD BE COMPLETELY SCOURED OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE
AS SOUTHWEST FLOW TAKES HOLD. THEN APPEARS DRY THROUGH THE LABOR DAY
HOLIDAY WEEKEND UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.  DRB

.TWC...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 29, 10:45 AM MST, 4 hours 40 minutes before

AZZ019-029>035-300600-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1045 AM MST TUE AUG 29 2000

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

COCHISE              50          10        40       20    NW  15
GRAHAM               50          10        40       20     N  10
GREENLEE             65           5        50       20     N  10
TUCSON/ERN PIMA      55          15        30       15    NW  15
TOHONO OODHAM       55          15        30       15    NW  10
SOUTHEAST PINAL      50          15        30       15    NW  10
WESTERN PIMA         40           5        30       15    NW  10
SANTA CRUZ           60          10        40       20    NW  15

SYNOPSIS...AIR MASS REMAINS VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE.  AN INVERTED
TROUGH WILL MOVE THROUGH SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON WHICH
WILL HELP TO ORGANIZE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.  DUE TO THE VERY
MOIST AIR MASS...HEAVY RAINFALL IS MORE LIKELY THAN SEVERE WIND
OR LARGE HAIL.

*****************************************************************
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://WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/TUCSON/THUNDER/SWO.SHTML

END/DRB

NNNN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 29, 4:00 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	TWC	Pima	30 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 2000 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2000

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.