Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 22, NWS Phoenix, AZ

July 13, 2002Maricopa County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 13, 2002, 6:08 PM MST for Maricopa County, Arizona. It was in force for 52 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 13, 2002, 6:08 PM MST (01:08 UTC)
Expired
Jul 13, 2002, 7:00 PM MST
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Phoenix, AZ
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Maricopa County, AZ

The radar

The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 128 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 13, 4:45 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Phoenix, AZ (KPSR), launched 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 96 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, Phoenix, AZ at 00:00Z on 2002-07-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3809 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, Phoenix, AZ at 00:00Z on 2002-07-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 11 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
3809 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-164 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2477 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
53 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
9.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

239 
WUUS55 KPSR 140108
SVRPSR
AZC013-140200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
608 PM MST SAT JUL 13 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN MARICOPA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

* UNTIL 700 PM MST

* AT 605 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR             
  INDICATED AN INTENSE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES EAST-NORTHEAST OF        
  WICKENBURG...AND OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS JUST NORTH OF THE      
  MARICOPA-YAVAPAI COUNTY LINE. INDIVIDUAL STORMS WERE MOVING TOWARD 
  THE SOUTHWEST AT 10 MPH. 

LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...WICKENBURG 
...AGUILA...STATE ROUTE 74...AND HIGHWAY 60.

DAMAGING MICROBURST WINDS...INTENSE LIGHTNING...AND LOCALLY HEAVY 
RAIN IS POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY WITH THE STORM APPROACHING WICKENBURG. 
TAKE COVER IN A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.  

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

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM MST
SATURDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHERN ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA.

LAT...LON 3401 11271 3401 11332 3377 11331 3375 11251
          3392 11241

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 Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 13, 3:20 PM MST, 2 hours 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 13, 3:20 PM MST, 2 hours 48 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-140545-

SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
320 PM MST SAT JUL 13 2002

.SYNOPSIS...
HIGH PRESSURE OVER UTAH AND ARIZONA TONIGHT...WILL SLOWLY MOVE TO
THE SOUTH NEXT WEEK. A NORTHEAST WIND IN THE UPPER LEVELS...SHOULD
MOVE AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE HIGHER TERRAIN
DOWN INTO THE SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST LOWER DESERTS EACH DAY.
THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE LIGHT. HOWEVER...THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY
HAVE GUSTY WINDS AND A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF BLOWING DUST.

.DISCUSSION...
MID AFTN...STLT WV HAS A WELL DEFINED VORT LOBE ENTERING NE AZ...
MOVG FAST TO THE SW...WITH PLENTY OF DYNAMICS WHICH SPAWNED DEEP
CNVCTN. AS OF 22Z..THIS TSTM ACTIVITY IS JUST TO THE NE OF SRN GILA
COUNTY AND NE OF THE USUAL AFTN RIM CNTRY TSTMS. KPG A WARY EYE ON
THIS AS IT IS MOVG FAST TO THE SW AND CD BE A HARBINGER OF A BUSY
EVE ACRS SRN GILA...MARICOPA AND NRN PINAL COUNTIES.

THE LRG HI...CENTERED PRETTY MUCH OVER CNTRL UT...IS PROGGED TO
SLOWLY SINK SOUTH...WHATS MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT THERE IS A SERIES
OF VORT LOBES...WITH GOOD OMEGA MAXES...SWINGING ARND THE HI AND
INTO CNTRL AZ OVER THE NEXT 3 DAYS.  WHILE THE TYPICAL MONSOON LOW
LVL MSTR SOURCE TO THE S JUST HASNT HAPPENED YET...THE UPPR LVL
DYNAMICS ARE PRETTY IMPRESSIVE. SO WILL CONT TO RAMP UP THE ACTVTY
THROUGH TUESDAY...ALBEIT THE ACTUAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL BE
UNMERCIFULLY LOW.

WILL GO WITH THE HI DRFTG OFF TO THE E THE MIDDLE OF NEXT
WEEK...AND A TROUGH DIGGING SWRD ALG THE CA COAST...THIS CD MEAN
SOME  DRYING...BUT RELATIVELY SPEAKING WE ARE ALREADY A DRY IN THE
MID LVLS. WHAT IS PBLY MORE IMPORTANT IS THAT THE TROUGH CD MAKE FOR
SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPS...MAYBE 2 TO 4 DEG BELOW DAILY SEASONAL NORMS
BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK AS WELL AS KICKING IN SOME VERY LO LVL MSTR
ADVCTN. RUNYAN

.PSR...NONE.

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002

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.