Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 39, NWS Phoenix, AZ

August 28, 2002Maricopa County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 28, 2002, 5:07 PM MST for Maricopa County, Arizona. It was in force for 53 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Aug 28, 2002, 5:07 PM MST (00:07 UTC)
Expired: Aug 28, 2002, 6:00 PM MST
In force: 53 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), 15 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:09 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 28, 5:08 PM MST	Hail 1	Mesa, AZ
Aug 28, 5:15 PM MST	Thunderstorm Wind 79 M	Chandler, AZ	Microburst winds struck a large area in the East Valley, taking down power poles and uprooting trees.Homes, businesses and cars were damaged. Power lines fell on top of an SRP construction trailer and the resulting fire destroyed the trailer. Power lines we

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Phoenix, AZ (KPSR), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 17 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: 888 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2880 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 104 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

193 
WUUS55 KPSR 290007
SVRPSR
AZC013-290100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
506 PM MST WED AUG 28 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 600 PM MST

* AT 506 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN THE EAST CHANDLER AND GILBERT AREA.  THIS 
  STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

DAMAGING MICROBURST WINDS ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. VERY HEAVY RAIN
IS ALSO POSSIBLE. VERY LARGE HAIL IS ALSO POSSIBLE. 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 IN PHOENIX.

LAT...LON 3337 11193 3322 11195 3322 11159 3342 11161
          3353 11175 3347 11184

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 28, 5:24 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	66 min
Aug 28, 6:48 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa, Pinal	57 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.