Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 28, NWS Phoenix, AZ

July 23, 2002Pinal County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 23, 2002, 5:38 PM MST for Pinal County, Arizona. It was in force for 37 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 23, 2002, 5:38 PM MST (00:38 UTC)
Expired: Jul 23, 2002, 6:15 PM MST
In force: 37 min
Issued by: NWS Phoenix, AZ
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Pinal County, AZ

The radar

The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 28 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:38 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 nearest sounding before it

Phoenix, AZ (KPSR), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 60 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: 211 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -34 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2526 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 18 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.

618 
WUUS55 KPSR 240038
SVRPSR
AZC021-240115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
535 PM MST TUE JUL 23 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

* UNTIL 615 PM MST

* AT 533 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS 9 MILES EAST OF FLORENCE...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 
15 MPH.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE EXPANDING IN COVERAGE AND EXPECTED TO 
THREATEN THE AREAS OF FLORENCE...FLORENCE JUNCTION...COOLIDGE...
AND OTHER NEARBY AREAS.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A STRONG
BUILDING. DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...AND DEADLY
LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. STAY INSIDE AWAY
FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD PREPARE
FOR DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE
SHOULD TAKE SHELTER...PREFERABLY IN A STRONG BUILDING AWAY FROM
WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 3315 11159 3288 11155 3304 11125 3331 11130

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 23, 3:15 PM MST, 2 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 3:15 PM MST, 2 hours 23 minutes before

AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-240545-

SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
315 PM MST TUE JUL 23 2002

.SYNOPSIS...
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE OVER SOUTHERN UTAH THROUGH
THURSDAY. THE CLOCKWISE FLOW OF AIR AROUND THE HIGH IS BRINGING AN
INCREASE IN HUMIDITY FROM THE EAST. AS A RESULT...SCATTERED SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD WEST OVER THE AREA THROUGH TONIGHT
WITH A CHANCE OF MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING THROUGH THURSDAY. A PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE
SYSTEM WILL MOVE EAST AND BRING A DRYING TREND TO SOUTHEAST
CALIFORNIA FRIDAY...WITH DRIER AIR SPREADING EAST TO SOUTH-CENTRAL
ARIZONA THIS WEEKEND.

.DISCUSSION...
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE OVER SOUTHERN UTAH THROUGH
THURSDAY. EXPECT MORE HUMID AIR TO MOVE IN FROM THE EAST AND
SOUTHEAST IN THE CLOCKWISE FLOW AROUND THE HIGH PRESSURE CENTER.
ALSO...THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL LOW LEVEL MOISTURE FROM THE GULF OF
CALIFORNIA IN THE NEXT DAY OR SO. THE AIRMASS IS UNSTABLE ENOUGH
WITH THE MOISTURE INCREASE TO SUPPORT THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING FROM
THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST INTO THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA TONIGHT...AND
EVEN FURTHER WEST AND NORTHWEST. A HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WAS
ISSUED FOR SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ARIZONA...INCLUDING THE
GREATER PHOENIX AREA...FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. AS USUAL IT
IS UNDER THE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT HEADER PHXSPSPSR...WMO HEADER
WWUS85 KPSR. A PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST
OVER THE WESTERN UNITED STATES BRINGING DRIER AIR OVER SOUTHEAST
CALIFORNIA FRIDAY...WITH DRIER AIR SPREADING EAST TO SOUTHWEST AND
SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS WEEKEND...AND SOME CORRESPONDING INCREASE
IN DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURES.

PSR...NONE

ELLIS

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 23, 12:30 PM MST, 5 hours 8 minutes before

AZZ020>028-CAZ031-240100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
1230 PM MST TUE JUL 23 2002

...HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS POSSIBLE OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
ARIZONA...AND THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY THROUGH TONIGHT...

ARIZONA COUNTIES IN THE RISK AREA INCLUDE...MARICOPA...YUMA...LA PAZ
...NORTHWEST PINAL...AND SOUTHERN GILA.

SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA COUNTIES IN THE RISK AREA INCLUDE FAR EASTERN
RIVERSIDE AND FAR EASTERN IMPERIAL.

THE PRIMARY HAZARDOUS WEATHER RISKS INCLUDE...THUNDERSTORMS WITH
STRONG...GUSTY...POSSIBLY DAMAGING WINDS TO OVER 50 MPH...AND A
SUDDEN DROP IN VISIBILITY IN THE DESERT AREAS DUE TO BLOWING DUST
AND SAND. THE VISIBILITY COULD DROP TO LESS THAN QUARTER OF A MILE.

ADDITIONAL THREATS INCLUDE...INTENSE CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING...
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WITH STREET FLOODING...FLOODING OF NORMALLY
DRY WASHES...AND POSSIBLY HAIL.

STORM MOVEMENT WILL BE TOWARD THE WEST AND NORTHWEST AT 15 TO 25
MPH.

THE PHOENIX METROPOLITAN AREA IS INCLUDED IN THE OUTLOOK AREA...BUT
ANY HAZARDOUS WEATHER WILL PROBABLY OCCUR AFTER 4 PM.

STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR
TONIGHT.

ELLIS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 23, 6:23 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa, Pinal	52 min
Jul 23, 6:27 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa, Pinal	48 min
Jul 23, 6:30 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa, Pinal	60 min
Jul 23, 6:51 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Pinal	39 min
Jul 23, 7:06 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	54 min
Jul 23, 7:49 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	71 min
Jul 23, 8:45 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	45 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 2002 Every 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.