Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 43, NWS Phoenix, AZ
NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 6, 2002, 3:22 PM MST for Maricopa 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 as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 6, 2002, 3:22 PM MST (22:22 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 6, 2002, 4:15 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), 34 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:21 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 12:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 3 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 907 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -114 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2318 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 21 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -26 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 40 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
304
WUUS55 KPSR 062222
SVRPSR
AZC013-062315-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
319 PM MST FRI SEP 6 2002
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
CENTRAL MARICOPA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
* UNTIL 415 PM MST
* AT 315 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED
A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO THE PHOENIX EAST VALLEY...
PARTICULARLY NEAR GILBERT...MESA...AND QUEEN CREEK. THUNDERSTORMS
WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS COULD ALSO DEVELOP IN OTHER PARTS OF THE GREATER
PHOENIX AREA...INCLUDING GLENDALE...PEORIA...AND PARADISE VALLEY.
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.
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 3335 11235 3331 11216 3322 11207 3323 11161
3346 11160 3345 11170 3371 11175 3376 11239What 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 Sep 6, 10:10 AM MST, 5 hours 12 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 6, 10:10 AM MST, 5 hours 12 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-062245- SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 1010 AM MST FRI SEP 6 2002 .SYNOPSIS... MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO FLOW INTO SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FROM THE REMAINS OF TROPICAL SYSTEM HERNAN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...WITH SOME MOISTURE FROM MEXICO MOVING OVER SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA. LOW PRESSURE ALOFT ALONG THE WEST COAST WILL GRADUALLY SPREAD ADDITIONAL MOISTURE INTO SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA...FOR AN INCREASING CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY TROUGH THIS WEEKEND. SOMEWHAT DRIER AIR WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK. TEMPERATURES WILL LOWER THE NEXT FEW DAYS TO NEAR OR SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. .DISCUSSION... A VERY MOIST...UNSTABLE AIRMASS HAS BEEN IMPORTED INTO ALL OF THE PHX FORECAST AREA THE PAST DAY OR SO...THANKS MOSTLY TO TD HERNAN. EVEN FAR ERN CWFA IS NOW IN THE SOUP AND THIS MORE LIKELY JUST DUE TO SLY FLOW BRINGING MEXICAN MOISTURE OUR WAY RATHER THAN MOISTURE DIRECTLY FROM HERNAN. PHX 12Z SOUNDING VERY UNSTABLE WITH LOTS OF AVAILABLE CAPE READY TO BE RELEASED. NOW...IF WE CAN JUST PUT OUR FINGERS ON A TRIGGER. MODELS NOT MUCH HELP HERE...BUT WV LOOPS HINT THERE MAY BE AT LEAST A COUPLE OF WEAK RIPPLES APPROACHING IN THE SLY FLOW FROM NW MEXICO. SO...MEDIUM GRADE CHANCE POPS STILL APPEAR IN ORDER. IN FACT...IN AFTERNOON PACKAGE...WILL CONSIDER KICKING POPS INTO AREAL TERMS. MEANWHILE...OVER WRN CWFA...A NICE PERSISTENT LINE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS CONTINUES TO RUMBLE. HAVE BEEN HANDLING THIS WITH NOWS...BUT IF WE CAN GET SOME GROUND TRUTH THAT WOULD SUPPORT OUR ONE AND THREE HOUR PRECIP RADAR ESTIMATES OF OVER ONE INCH...WE MAY EVENTUALLY NEED TO GO WITH A SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY. AS YOU WOULD EXPECT...THIS SMALL SCALE AREA OF CONVERGENCE NOT BEING HANDLED WELL AT ALL BY THE 12Z MODELS. ALL IN ALL...IT LOOKS LIKE A VERY ACTIVE WEEKEND WX-WISE. CURRENT FORECASTS IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE...NO UPDATES FOR NOW. ESTLE .PSR...NONE.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Sep 6, 1:09 PM MST, 2 hours 13 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-070700- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 109 PM MST FRI SEP 6 2002 ...A RISK OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AND HAZARDOUS WEATHER OVER ALL OF SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ARIZONA...AS WELL AS SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA DESERTS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... THE OUTLOOK AREA CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... MARICOPA...NORTHERN PINAL...SOUTHERN GILA...LA PAZ AND YUMA IN ARIZONA...AND IMPERIAL AND EASTERN RIVERSIDE COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA. CITIES AND TOWNS IN THE OUTLOOK AREA INCLUDE...THE GREATER PHOENIX METROPOLITAN AREA...CASA GRANDE...FLORENCE... COOLIDGE...GLOBE...MIAMI...SUPERIOR...GILA BEND...WENDEN...PARKER ...QUARTZSITE AND YUMA...AS WELL AS BLYTHE AND THE IMPERIAL VALLEY TOWNS IN SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA. THE PRIMARY HAZARDOUS WEATHER RISKS OVER THIS OUTLOOK AREA INCLUDE STRONG AND DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 45 MPH...AREAS OF BLOWING DUST AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...ALONG WITH LIGHTNING. STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY LATER THIS AFTERNOON. ESTLE
The office that day
Everything else NWS Phoenix, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 6, 2:12 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 63 min |
| Sep 6, 3:26 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Pinal | 64 min |
| Sep 6, 4:16 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 59 min |
| Sep 6, 4:17 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Gila | 58 min |
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.