Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2001

Flash Flood Warning 5, NWS Phoenix, AZ

July 29, 2001Gila County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Jul 29, 2001, 8:37 PM MST for Gila 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
Jul 29, 2001, 8:37 PM MST (03:37 UTC)
Expired
Jul 29, 2001, 9:30 PM MST
In force
53 min
Issued by
NWS Phoenix, AZ
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Gila County, AZ

The radar

The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 109 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:39 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, 3.6 hours before the alert went out and 141 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 00:00Z on 2001-07-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1454 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 00:00Z on 2001-07-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -26 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
1454 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1467 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
2 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
43 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 
NZUS97 KPSR 300338
FFWPHX
AZC007-300530-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
837 PM MST SUN JUL 29 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SOUTH CENTRAL GILA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA

* UNTIL 1030 PM MST

* AT 830 PM MST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY 
  RAIN APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES SOUTH OF SAN CARLOS NEAR PERIDOT...AND 
  HEAVY RAIN FROM GLOBE-MIAMI TO 25 MILES NORTHEAST OF GLOBE...
  DEVELOPING SLOWLY TO THE SOUTHWEST. WASHES AND CREEKS NEAR AND
  SOUTH OF SAN CARLOS AND THE GLOBE MIAMI REGION COULD BE AFFECTED.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT. MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR OTHER LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY. NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON FOOT. TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP 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 3355 11031 3352 11063 3347 11088 3310 11075
          3321 11043 3331 11045 3341 11043 3344 11030

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 Jul 29, 3:10 PM MST, 5 hours 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 29, 3:10 PM MST, 5 hours 27 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-300545-

SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
310 PM MST SUN JUL 29 2001

.SYNOPSIS...
THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ARIZONA...MOVES
SLOWLY TO THE EAST TONIGHT.  A VERY MOIST MONSOON FLOW...IS ANCHORED
OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ARIZONA.  SLIGHTLY DRIER SOUTHWEST
WINDS...PREVAIL OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA.  TONIGHT THERE IS A
CHANCE FOR BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL...TO THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF
PHOENIX.  THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE UNTIL
MID WEEK...THEN A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER CALIFORNIA...WILL
BRING DRIER AIR INTO THE REGION BY THE END OF THE WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...
A WARY EYE TO THE FAR EAST THIS EVENING...WHERE HIGHLY ACTIVE DEEP
CNVCTN APPEARS TO BE GETTING ORGANIZED...AND WITH LIGHT WINDS ALFT
OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AND ERN AZ...WE CD SEE SLOW MOVG SHWRS AND TSTMS
DVLPG.  DUE TO THE HIGH PW OF 1.4 TO 1.8...AS SEEN ON GOES PW
IMAGERY THIS AFTN...WE WILL NEED TO CLOSELY MONITOR THE CNVCTN
TNGT.  THEY WILL BE SLOW MOVERS WITH THE WEAK FLOW ALFT...SO WILL
MENTION BRIEF HVY RNFALL PSBL IN THE SRN GILA AND PINAL COUNTY ZONES.

MONDAY MORNG CLDS MAY POSE A PROBLEM WITH FCSTG THE AFTN HIGHS OVER
SOUTH CENTRAL AZ...IT SLOWED US DOWN TDA BY ABOUT 3 TO 6 DEGREES.
AND...THEN THERE IS THE CHC FOR PCPN MONDAY TO DEAL WITH AS
WELL.  FOLLOWING MONDAYS ACTIVITY...WILL BE THE MUCH ANTICIPATED
E/WV WED AND THU.  WILL GO WITH AVN AND BRING MOISTURE...ALA
CHC POPS MAINLY IN THE CENTRAL AND ERN ZONES.  THEN AS WE GO INTO
THE END OF THE WEEK...WILL GO WITH A FLATTENED E/WV AND BRING
SLIGHTLY DRIER FLOW WEST TO EAST ACRS THE RGN.

RUNYAN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 29, 6:30 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRGila60 min
Jul 29, 9:10 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningPSRGila, Maricopa50 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 2001Every 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.