Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 63, NWS Flagstaff, AZ

August 13, 2001Navajo County, Arizona

NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 13, 2001, 1:54 PM MDT for Navajo County, Arizona. It was in force for 36 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 13, 2001, 1:54 PM MDT (19:54 UTC)
Expired
Aug 13, 2001, 2:30 PM MDT
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Flagstaff, AZ
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Navajo County, AZ

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 131 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:58 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

Flgstf/Belemont, AZ (KFGZ), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 168 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, Flgstf/Belemont, AZ at 12:00Z on 2001-08-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 173 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Flgstf/Belemont, AZ at 12:00Z on 2001-08-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 188 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
173 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
864 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
188 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
216 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

161 
WUUS55 KFGZ 131959
SVRFLG
AZC001-017-132030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
1254 PM MST MON AUG 13 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WEST CENTRAL APACHE COUNTY IN ARIZONA
  THIS INCLUDES THE PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK HEADQUARTERS
    AND JOSEPH CITY

* UNTIL 130 PM MST

* AT 1254 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 18 MILES WEST OF PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK
  HEADQUARTERS...OR ABOUT 11 MILES NORTH OF HOLBROOK...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT OR PASS CLOSE TO...
   5 MILES NORTHWEST OF JOSEPH CITY AT 100 PM MST
   8 MILES NORTHWEST OF PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK HEADQUARTERS 
     AT 130 PM MST

LARGE HAIL IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. IF YOU ARE IN 
THE PATH OF THE STORM...PUT YOUR CAR IN A GARAGE AND MOVE TO A 
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

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

LAT...LON 3516 11023 3494 11009 3513 10951 3545 10972

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 Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 13, 10:55 AM MDT, 2 hours 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 10:55 AM MDT, 2 hours 59 minutes before
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
955 AM MST MON AUG 13 2001

.SYNOPSIS...A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL REMAIN OVER NORTHERN
ARIZONA TODAY WITH WIDESPREAD SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.
SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...WITH RAINFALL
AMOUNTS BETWEEN 2 TO 4 INCHES. MOST OF THE SOIL CONDITIONS IN
NORTHERN ARIZONA ARE MOIST...SO THAT HEAVY RAIN COULD PRODUCE RAPID
RUNOFF AND FLASH FLOODING IN NORMALLY DRY WASHES AND CREEK BEDS. DRIER
AIR WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA STARING LATER TONIGHT AND
TUESDAY. THIS DRIER AIR WILL REDUCE THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN...BUT
THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL STILL PERSIST ALL WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...A VERY MOIST AIR MASS IS IN PLACE ACROSS NORTHERN
ARIZONA. KGCN HAD 2.69 IN OF +RA OVERNIGHT IN 2 TO 3 HOURS PERIOD
WITH FAIRLY WARM TOPS AND REFLECTIVITY BETWEEN 40 TO 50 DBZ. FGZ
SOUNDING SHOWING A 1.10 IN PRECIP H2O. ANY THUNDERSTORMS WILL
PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN AS PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES REMAIN HIGH (1.0 TO
1.75 INCHES ACROSS THE COUNTY WARNING AREA). DIVERGENCE OVER THE
AREA THRU THE DAY AHEAD OF WEST COAST TROUGH. PSR SOUNDING SHOWING
DESCENT IN STABILITY WHICH WILL AFFECT EASTERN PARTS OF ARE ZONES TO
HELP SUPPORT DEEP CONVECTION IN THAT AREA LATER THIS AFTERNOON.
CLEARING IN SOME OF OUR EASTERN ZONES WILL HELP INCREASE INSTABILITY
AS WELL. WEAK INERTIAL INSTABILITY MAY AID MORE CONVECTION ACROSS
COCONINO PLATEAU AND UP INTO THE PAGE AREA. AS THE UPPER LEVEL
DIVERGENCE TRANSITIONS TO THE EAST LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING...THEN EASTERN ZONES WILL HAVE A THREAT OF FLOODING.

DRIER AIR BEGINS TO WORK INTO WESTERN PARTS OF YAVAPAI COUNTY AND
THE WESTERN PART OF THE COCONINO AND KAIBAB PLATEAUS BY EARLY EVENING. THE
DRIER AIR IS MOVING EAST AT AROUND 10 MPH AND WILL MOVE INTO THE
EASTERN ZONES BY TUESDAY MORNING...SO THE HEAVY RAIN THREAT WILL BE
ENDING OVERNIGHT.

CLEMMONS
.FGZ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 1200 AM MST TUESDAY MORNING
       FOR THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 13, 11:15 AM MDT, 2 hours 39 minutes before
AZZ004>018-037>040-131930-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
1015 AM MST MON AUG 13 2001

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 1200 AM MST TONIGHT FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHERN ARIZONA...

...THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA WITH THE
POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAINFALL...

A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL REMAIN OVER NORTHERN ARIZONA TODAY
WITH WIDESPREAD SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. SOME
THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS
BETWEEN 2 TO 4 INCHES. MOST AREAS HAVE MOIST SOIL CONDITIONS IN
NORTHERN ARIZONA...SO THAT HEAVY RAIN COULD PRODUCE RAPID
RUNOFF CREATING FLASH FLOODING IN NORMALLY DRY WASHES AND CREEK
BEDS...AS WELL AS MUD AND ROCK SLIDES IN AREAS OF STEEP TERRAIN.
THERE WILL ALSO BE A LOW THREAT THAT A FEW THUNDERSTORMS EAST
OF THE FLAGSTAFF AREA COULD PRODUCE LARGE HAIL.

DRIER AIR WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA STARING LATER TONIGHT AND
TUESDAY...THUS REDUCING THE FLOOD POTENTIAL.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED FOR LOCALLY SEVERE WEATHER AND HEAVY RAIN
FALL TODAY. PEOPLE IN THE WATCH AREA ARE ADVISED TO CHECK
PREPAREDNESS REQUIREMENTS...KEEP INFORMED BY LISTENING TO NOAA
WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA SOURCE...AND BE READY FOR QUICK
ACTION IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED BY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 12, 7:03 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZYavapai27 min
Aug 13, 1:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZApache36 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 2001Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2001

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.