Alert archive / Arizona / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Phoenix, AZ

September 7, 2002Maricopa County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this tornado warning at Sep 7, 2002, 3:57 PM MST for Maricopa County, Arizona. It was in force for 48 min. 1 report 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: Sep 7, 2002, 3:57 PM MST (22:57 UTC)
Expired: Sep 7, 2002, 4:45 PM MST
In force: 48 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), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:00 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
Sep 7, 4:05 PM MST	Hail 1.75	Goodyear, AZ	Numerous reports of large hail throughout the West Valley, including Sun City, Peoria, and Phoenix. Winds to over 60 mph damaged homes, blew down power poles and uprooted trees. Streets were flooded in the West Valley as rain totals were as much as 1.85 inc

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Sep 7, 1:30 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Phoenix, AZ (KPSR), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 20 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: 146 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -210 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1553 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 62 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

376 
WFUS55 KPSR 072257
TORPSR
AZC013-072345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
355 PM MST SAT SEP 7 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL MARICOPA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

* UNTIL 445 PM MST

* AT 345 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A TORNADO OVER TOLLESON...IN SOUTHWEST PHOENIX...MOVING NORTHEAST
  AT 15 MPH. THIS TORNADO WAS MOVING TOWARD THE CITY OF PHOENIX.   

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM MST
SATURDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHWESTERN ARIZONA.

LAT...LON 3340 11242 3329 11212 3368 11180 3386 11201

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 6, 5:15 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	45 min
Sep 6, 7:08 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	37 min
Sep 6, 7:13 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	32 min
Sep 6, 11:19 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	56 min
Sep 7, 10:13 AM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	47 min
Sep 7, 2:38 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	La Paz	37 min
Sep 7, 2:45 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Pinal	45 min
Sep 7, 3:14 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	La Paz	46 min
Sep 7, 3:27 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa, Pinal	48 min
Sep 7, 3:57 PM MST	Tornado Warning	PSR	Maricopa	48 min
Sep 7, 4:08 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Pinal	37 min
Sep 7, 4:43 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	47 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Arizona, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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.