Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2001

Flash Flood Warning 10, NWS Phoenix, AZ

August 13, 2001Pinal County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 13, 2001, 6:07 PM MST for Pinal County, Arizona. It was in force for 53 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, 6:07 PM MST (01:07 UTC)
Expired: Aug 13, 2001, 7:00 PM MST
In force: 53 min
Issued by: NWS Phoenix, AZ
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Pinal County, AZ

The radar

The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 36 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:08 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 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 138 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: 325 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -193 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1957 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 94 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 
WGUS55 KPSR 140116
FFWPHX
AZC021-140300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
607 PM MST MON AUG 13 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

* UNTIL 800 PM MST

* AT 615 PM MST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY 
RAIN WAS FALLING OVER MAINLY HIGHER TERRAIN EXTENDING FROM 5 MILES 
NORTHWEST OF QUEEN VALLEY EAST TO 3 MILES NORTHEAST OF SUPERIOR 
...FROM THE EAST END OF THE SUPERSTITION MOUNTAINS TO NEAR IRON 
MOUNTAIN. RADAR ESTIMATES INDICATE THAT MUCH OF THIS AREA HAS 
RECEIVED BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES OF RAIN SINCE 515 PM. FLASH FLOODING 
OF CREEKS AND STREAMS IN THE AREA IS LIKELY...AND THE HEAVY RAIN 
COULD ALSO TRIGGER ROCK AND MUDSLIDES IN STEEP TERRAIN.  PEOPLE IN 
AND NEAR QUEEN VALLEY...QUEENS STATION...AND THE OAK FLAT RECREATION 
AREA SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER CLOSELY...AND BE READY TO MOVE TO 
HIGHER GROUND. 

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. 
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY. 
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE 
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS 
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY 
AUTOMOBILE. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS...ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK 
HIGHER GROUND.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN
PHOENIX.

LAT...LON 3344 11146 3327 11145 3327 11105 3343 11106

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 Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Aug 13, 3:35 PM MST, 2 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 3:35 PM MST, 2 hours 32 minutes before

AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-140545-

SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
335 PM MST MON AUG 13 2001

.SYNOPSIS...
A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING SLOWLY EAST ACROSS ARIZONA...COMBINED
WITH HUMID AIR MEANS SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT
INTO TUESDAY...MOSTLY OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA. HIGH PRESSURE
ALOFT WILL MOVE FROM OFF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EAST OVER ARIZONA
DURING MID AND LATE WEEK. THIS WILL RESULT IN HOTTER AND DRIER AIR
OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND FAR SOUTHWEST ARIZONA BEGINNING
TUESDAY...AND MOST OF SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA BEGINNING WEDNESDAY
THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...
A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS MOVING SLOWLY EAST ACROSS ARIZONA. THE
AIRMASS IS VERY HUMID...AND COMBINED WITH DYNAMICS FROM THE LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCALLY
HEAVY RAIN WERE DEVELOPING ESPECIALLY OVER MARICOPA COUNTY AND EAST
THIS AFTERNOON...AND THIS IS EXPECTED TO BE THE CASE CONTINUING INTO
TONIGHT. A HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WAS ISSUED LATE THIS MORNING
FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND
STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA INCLUDING THE PHOENIX
AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE
SOUTHEAST OF SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA TUESDAY NIGHT...AND SOUTHEAST OF
THE STATE BY WEDNESDAY. ALSO...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL MOVE FROM
OFF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EAST OVER ARIZONA DURING MID AND LATE WEEK.
THIS WILL RESULT IN HOTTER AND DRIER AIR OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA
AND FAR SOUTHWEST ARIZONA BEGINNING TUESDAY...AND MOST OF
SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA BEGINNING WEDNESDAY THROUGH THE END OF THE
WEEK. THUS WILL ELIMINATE THE MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR SOUTHEAST
CALIFORNIA AND THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY BEGINNING TUESDAY AND
ALL OF SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA BEGINNING WEDNESDAY...EXCEPT FOR A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF MAINLY LATE AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
OVER ZONE 24 SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY. THE HIGH PRESSURE CENTER WILL
MOVE EAST TO THE ARIZONA-NEW MEXICO BORDER...WITH A CHANCE OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA TO SOUTHEAST
CALIFORNIA SUNDAY AND MONDAY.

ELLIS

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 13, 1:50 PM MST, 4 hours 17 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
150 PM MST MON AUG 13 2001

TIME(MST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0215 PM    DATELAND                  AZ   WIND DAMAGE
08/12/01   YUMA                           16 POWER POLES DOWNED
                                          REPORTED BY UTILITY CO

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 13, 5:18 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Pinal	42 min
Aug 13, 6:00 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Pinal	45 min
Aug 14, 2:36 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	54 min
Aug 14, 3:26 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	64 min
Aug 14, 3:37 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	La Paz	53 min
Aug 14, 4:25 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	35 min
Aug 14, 4:29 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Gila, Pinal	51 min
Aug 14, 4:59 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	46 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 2001 Every flash flood 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.