Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 76, NWS Phoenix, AZ
NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 26, 2002, 2:33 PM MST for Maricopa County, Arizona. It was in force for 42 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
- Oct 26, 2002, 2:33 PM MST (21:33 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 26, 2002, 3:15 PM MST
- In force
- 42 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), 136 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:35 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
Flgstf/Belemont, AZ (KFGZ), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 188 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1382 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 61 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 185 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 217 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
529 WUUS55 KPSR 262133 SVRPSR AZC013-262215- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 231 PM MST SAT OCT 26 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... NORTHWEST MARICOPA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA * UNTIL 315 PM MST * AT 220 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WICKENBURG...OR ABOUT 18 MILES NORTH OF TONOPAH...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... WICKENBURG BY 315 PM MST. MARBLE SIZE HAIL GREATER THAN THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THE STORM...PUT YOUR CAR IN A GARAGE AND MOVE TO A SAFE PLACE INDOORS. 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 3376 11315 3366 11297 3395 11269 3409 11294
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 Oct 26, 10:20 AM MST, 4 hours 13 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 26, 10:20 AM MST, 4 hours 13 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-262245- SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 1020 AM MST SAT OCT 26 2002 .SYNOPSIS... A RATHER STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE SLOWLY EAST ACROSS ARIZONA THIS WEEKEND. BELOW NORMAL DAYTIME HIGHS ARE EXPECTED TODAY...WITH EVEN COOLER DAYTIME HIGHS EXPECTED SUNDAY OVER SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR TODAY AND TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA. THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH AT LEAST MIDDAY SUNDAY OVER THE LOWER DESERT OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA...AND THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA. DRY CONDITIONS AND NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED NEXT WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES. .DISCUSSION... SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING THIS MORNING OVER SW AND S-CNTRL AZ...INCLUDING THE GREATER PHOENIX METRO AREA. ACTIVE WX AREA IS IN LEFT EXIT REGION OF A 100 KT 300 MB JET CENTERED OVER THE NORTHERN GULF OF CALIFORNIA AS OF 16Z. THIS JET MAX IS PROGGED TO PROPAGATE TOWARD THE ENE TODAY...AND BE OVER SW NEW MEXICO BY THIS EVENING. 12Z PLOT DATA INDICATES COOLER MID-TROPOSPHERIC TEMPS TO OUR WEST...WITH -21 C 500 MB TEMP AT SAN DIEGO WHILE TUCSON WAS -15 C. PRECIPITABLE WATER ON THE INCREASE THANKS TO DEEP-LAYER SOUTH FLOW...WITH GOES TPW IMAGES INDICATING .75-.9 OVER MOST OF LOWER DESERT AS OF 15Z ...AND ADDITIONAL MOISTENING WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY INTO THIS EVENING. GIVEN STRENGTH OF UPPER JET AND DESTABILIZING TREND... POTENTIAL FOR SMALL HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL EXIST WITH STORMS TODAY...ESPECIALLY MIDDAY INTO EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. TONIGHT...ANOTHER UPPER JET STREAK MOVES SOUTH ALONG THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COASTLINE WHILE THE 500 MB LOW CENTER DRIFTS SLOWLY ACROSS NORTHWEST AZ. ETA/AVN FORECAST MOIST LAYER TO DEEPEN WHILE UVV INCREASES OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AZ TONIGHT AS SFC FRONT CURRENTLY OVER FAR WESTERN AZ MOVES INTO THAT AREA. UPPER JET CONFIGURATION NOT AS FAVORABLE FOR STORMS TONIGHT...BUT THREAT FOR SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL CONTINUE OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AZ INTO EARLY SUNDAY THANKS TO LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE...FURTHER DESTABILIZATION...AND MOISTURE INCREASE. S-CNTRL AZ PORTION OF CWA SHOULD RECEIVE THE MOST RAIN FROM THIS SYSTEM...WITH ONE QUARTER TO ONE HALF INCH AMOUNTS POSSIBLE OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL LOWER DESERT WHILE ONE HALF TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL AZ HIGHER TERRAIN. CURRENT ZONES IN DECENT SHAPE. NO UPDATES. .PSR...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 26, 10:33 AM MST, 4 hours before
AZZ022>024-027-028-270100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 1033 AM MST SAT OCT 26 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA .DAY ONE...TODAY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...WITH SMALL HAIL...STRONG GUSTY WINDS... BRIEF MODERATE RAIN...AND INTENSE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...ARE POSSIBLE OVER SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA...INCLUDING THE GREATER PHOENIX METROPOLITAN AREA...GILA BEND...CASA GRANDE...AND GLOBE...TODAY. INDIVIDUAL STORMS WILL MOVE TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. .INSTRUCTIONS TO SPOTTERS... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Phoenix, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 26, 1:13 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 47 min |
| Oct 26, 2:16 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 44 min |
| Oct 26, 3:01 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Gila, Maricopa, Pinal | 44 min |
| Oct 26, 3:15 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 45 min |
| Oct 26, 3:48 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Gila | 42 min |
| Oct 26, 4:00 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa | 45 min |
| Oct 26, 4:14 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Gila, Pinal | 46 min |
| Oct 26, 4:14 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Gila | 46 min |
| Oct 26, 4:14 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Pinal | 46 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.