Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 59, NWS Phoenix, AZ
NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 8, 2002, 4:23 PM MST for La Paz 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
- Sep 8, 2002, 4:23 PM MST (23:23 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 8, 2002, 5:00 PM MST
- In force
- 37 min
- Issued by
- NWS Phoenix, AZ
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County La Paz County, AZ
The radar
The Yuma radar (KYUX), 172 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:26 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, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 165 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
- 643 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -86 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1135 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 63 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 73 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 0.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
306 WUUS55 KPSR 082323 SVRPSR AZC012-090000- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 420 PM MST SUN SEP 8 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... EAST CENTRAL LA PAZ COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ARIZONA * UNTIL 500 PM MST * AT 411 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER VICKSBURG JUNCTION...MOVING NORTHEAST TOWARD SALOME AND WENDEN AT 20 MPH. THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS TO NEAR 60 MPH... ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN. 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. 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 3388 11399 3360 11374 3361 11335 3410 11337
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 Sep 8, 2:45 PM MST, 1 hour 38 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 8, 2:45 PM MST, 1 hour 38 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-090545- SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 245 PM MST SUN SEP 8 2002 .SYNOPSIS... A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE ALONG THE WEST COAST...AND A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND NEW MEXICO...WILL CONTINUE A SOUTHWEST FLOW OF MOIST...AND UNSTABLE AIR OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...AND SOUTHWEST ARIZONA. SOMEWHAT DRIER AIR IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHWEST ARIZONA BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK AS WESTERLY FLOW DEVELOPS. IN THE MEANTIME...EXPECT A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY...AND DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE NEAR...OR SLIGHTLY BELOW SEASONAL NORMALS. .DISCUSSION... UPPER HIGH OVER NM WITH TROF OVER CA KEEPING A VERY MOIST SW FLOW OVER REGION TONIGHT. THIS IS CONITNUING TO BRING IN MOISTURE FROM FORMER HERNAN ALONG WITH MOISTURE FROM TROPICAL DEPRESSION 11-E OFF THE SOUTHERN TIP OF BAJA. ENOUGH SHEAR ALOFT IS PRESENT ALONG WITH A JET CORE AT 300 MB OVER WESTERN AZ PLACING MUCH OF SOUTH CENTRAL AZ IN ITS RIGHT REAR QUADRENT. THIS ALL TO COMBINE INTO KEEPING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER ENTIRE AREA TONIGHT. HOWEVER...SOME DRIER AIR SEEMS TO BE EDGING INTO THE JOSHUA TREE PARK AREA BUT SATELLITE PHOTOS ALSO SHOW LOWER LEVEL MOISTURE FROM 11-E SLOWING TRYING TO MOVE NORTHWARD THRU SE CA. THUS WILL KEEP A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN JOSHUA TREE PARK. MODELS LIFT OUT TROF TONIGHT BUT KEEP A BAGGY TROF OFF THE COAST MON. THIS BRINGS UP MORE MOISTURE FROM TROPICAL DEPRESSION 11-E...OF WHICH AVN SPREADS INTO SE CA AND SW AZ AS PER PREVIOUS RUNS...BUT ETA NOW SHIFTS ITS A BIT MORE EAST INTO AZ. LOWER LEVEL FLOW SHOWS MORE SOUTHERLY COMPONENT THUS WILL FAVOR AVN SHOWING A BIT MORE THRUST OF THIS MOISTURE INTO SE CA / SW AZ MON. SOUTH CENTRAL AZ TO REMAIN UNDER THE SW MOIST FLOW MON AS THE TAIL END OF THE JET CORE REMAINS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AZ PROVIDING DYNAMICS FOR CONTINUED SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS. BAGGY TROF OVER CA AND UPPER HIGH OVER NM REMAINS TUES FOR LITTLE CHANGE WITH MODELS SHOWING A VORTMAX MOVING UP LOWER CO RIVER VALLEY TUES / TUES NIGHT FOR CONTINUED DYNAMICS TO KEEP ACTIVITY GOING. IN THE WAKE OF THIS VORTMAX UPPER FLOW TURNS WESTERLY AS AN UPPER HIGH BEGINS TO BUILD OVER BAJA. THIS WILL BEGIN BRINGING IN DRIER AIR INTO SE CA / SW AZ WED...WITH THIS FLOW AND DRIER AIR REACHING SOUTH CENTRAL AZ BY THURS. HOWEVER... SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY AND ITS HIGHER TERRAIN WILL BE SLOW TO DRY OUT FROM MID WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND WILL HAVE A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS. DKS .PSR...NONE.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Sep 8, 11:51 AM MST, 4 hours 32 minutes before
AZZ022>024-027-028-090000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 1151 AM MST SUN SEP 8 2002 ...A RISK OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AND HAZARDOUS WEATHER OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... THE OUTLOOK AREA CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN ARIZONA... MARICOPA...NORTHERN PINAL...SOUTHERN GILA...LA PAZ AND YUMA. CITIES AND TOWNS IN THE OUTLOOK AREA INCLUDE...THE GREATER PHOENIX METROPOLITAN AREA...CASA GRANDE...FLORENCE...COOLIDGE...GILA BEND... WICKENBURG...WENDEN...AND DATELAND. THE PRIMARY HAZARDOUS WEATHER RISK OVER THIS OUTLOOK AREA IS LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. IN ADDITION TO HEAVY RAIN...HAIL...STRONG AND DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH...AND AREAS OF BLOWING DUST THAT COULD LOWER VISIBILITY TO UNDER ONE HALF MILE WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH AND NEAR THE STRONGEST STORMS. STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DKS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Phoenix, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 7, 6:11 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 39 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.