Alert archive / California / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 65, NWS Phoenix, AZ
NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 10, 2002, 4:15 PM PDT for Imperial County, California. It was in force for 60 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 10, 2002, 4:15 PM PDT (23:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 10, 2002, 5:15 PM PDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Phoenix, AZ
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Imperial County, CA
The radar
The Yuma radar (KYUX), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:17 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
Yuma Intl Airpor, AZ (KYUM), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 68 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
- 366 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -206 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1713 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -23 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 56 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
429
WUUS55 KPSR 102315
SVRPSR
CAC025-110015-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
412 PM PDT TUE SEP 10 2002
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
SOUTHWESTERN IMPERIAL COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA
* UNTIL 515 PM PDT
* AT 410 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS NEAR HOLTVILLE. THIS STORM WAS MOVING WEST
AT 10 MPH.
THIS STORM WILL AFFECT THE HOLTVILLE...EL CENTRO...CALEXICO...
IMPERIAL...AND BRAWLEY AREAS THROUGH 515 PM.
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 3271 11474 3294 11494 3317 11513 3329 11588
3262 11611What 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 10, 3:16 PM PDT, 59 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 10, 3:16 PM PDT, 59 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-110545- SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 315 PAM MST TUE SEP 10 2002 .SYNOPSIS... A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING NORTHEAST FROM NORTHERN BAJA CALIFORNIA COMBINED WITH A MOIST UNSTABLE AIRMASS MEANS SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THIS EVENING...SOME WITH HEAVY RAIN...HAIL AND STRONG WIND. THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE MOVING NORTHEAST AWAY FROM ARIZONA WEDNESDAY WITH GRADUALLY DRIER AIR MOVING IN THE FROM THE WEST. EVEN DRIER AIR FROM THE NORTH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE IN BY FRIDAY AND THIS WEEKEND. WARMER WEATHER IS FORECAST THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WEST OF BAJA CALIFORNIA EXPANDS NORTHEAST. .DISCUSSION... PLENTY OF MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR CONTINUES OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA ...SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA. TO GO ALONG WITH THIS...A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM FROM NORTHERN BAJA CALIFORNIA IS MOVING NORTH-NORTHEAST. DYNAMICS WITH THIS SYSTEM COMBINED WITH A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS HAS RESULTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON WITH CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT EXPECTED THIS EVENING. THERE IS PLENTY OF THERMODYNAMIC ENERGY AVAILABLE WITH HEATING COMBINED WITH MOMENTUM ALOFT FOR MORE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THIS EVENING. THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE MOVING NORTHEAST AND AWAY FROM ARIZONA WEDNESDAY WITH GRADUALLY DRIER AIR MOVING IN FROM THE WEST. THIS WILL RESULT IN A DECREASING CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE WEST ESPECIALLY FOR THE DESERT AREAS. EVEN DRIER AIR FROM THE NORTH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE IN BY FRIDAY AND THIS WEEKEND. WARMER WEATHER IS FORECAST THROUGH THIS WEEKEND AS HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WEST OF BAJA CALIFORNIA EXPANDS NORTHEAST. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO RISE ABOVE THE AVERAGE FOR MID SEPTEMBER BY LATE THIS WEEK AND THIS WEEKEND. .PSR...NONE. ELLIS
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Sep 10, 10:30 AM PDT, 5 hours 45 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ031>033-110100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 1030 AM MST TUE SEP 10 2002 ...HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS THUNDERSTORMS WITH GUSTY WINDS...HAIL...AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN MAY DEVELOP... A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE NORTHERN BAJA PENINSULA IS EXPECTED TO TRIGGER THUNDERSTORMS BY MIDDAY TODAY. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTH INTO SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND FAR SOUTHWEST ARIZONA BETWEEN NOON AND 3 PM. THE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS GREATER THAN 30 MPH...HAIL...AND BRIEF BUT HEAVY RAIN. THEY ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTH...OUT OF THE REGION BY 8 PM TONIGHT. A RISK OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA BETWEEN 3 PM AND 9 PM THIS EVENING. THE COMBINATION OF AFTERNOON HEATING...ABUNDANT MOISTURE...HIGH SPEED WINDS ALOFT...AND THE APPROACHING BAJA LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MAY CAUSE VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS TO HAVE GUSTY WINDS GREATER THAN 40 MPH...HAIL...AND BRIEF BUT HEAVY RAIN...ESPECIALLY OVER MARICOPA...NORTHERN PINAL AND SOUTHERN GILA COUNTIES. THIS AREA INCLUDES GILA BEND...THE PHOENIX METRO AREA...CASA GRANDE...SUPERIOR AND THE GLOBE/MIAMI AREA. STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. RUNYAN
The office that day
Everything else NWS Phoenix, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 1:51 PM PDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Imperial | 54 min |
| Sep 10, 3:19 PM PDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Imperial | 56 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in California, 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.