Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 52, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 16, 2002Cochise County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 16, 2002, 12:54 PM MST for Cochise County, Arizona. It was in force for 51 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: Aug 16, 2002, 12:54 PM MST (19:54 UTC)
Expired: Aug 16, 2002, 1:45 PM MST
In force: 51 min
Issued by: NWS Tucson, AZ
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cochise County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 43 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:53 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
Aug 16, 1:24 PM MST	Hail 0.75	(Fhu)Ft Huachuca Afb, AZ

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
Aug 16, 12:15 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 82 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: 1872 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -127 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1868 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 18 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 7 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

927 
WUUS55 KTWC 161954
SVRTWC
AZC003-162045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1253 PM MST FRI AUG 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN COCHISE COUNTY IN ARIZONA
    THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF SIERRA VISTA

* UNTIL 145 PM MST

* AT 1253 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR SIERRA VISTA...OR ABOUT 2 MILES NORTHWEST
  OF SIERRA VISTA...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. MOTORISTS TRAVELING ALONG 
HIGHWAYS 90 AND 92 NEAR SIERRA VISTA SHOULD EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION AND
SHOULD NEVER ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THROUGH ANY FLOODED AREAS.

LAT...LON 3187 11044 3136 11044 3136 10994 3187 11007

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 16, 2:02 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Cochise	28 min
Aug 16, 2:11 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	49 min
Aug 16, 2:24 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	TWC	Pima	66 min
Aug 16, 2:24 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	TWC	Pima	6 min
Aug 16, 3:47 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	43 min
Aug 16, 4:30 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	30 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 2002 Every 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.