Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 70, NWS Tucson, AZ

September 11, 2002Greenlee County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 11, 2002, 7:38 PM MST for Greenlee County, Arizona. It was in force for 52 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 11, 2002, 7:38 PM MST (02:38 UTC)
Expired
Sep 11, 2002, 8:30 PM MST
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Greenlee County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 184 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:40 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 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 243 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Phoenix, AZ at 00:00Z on 2002-09-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 185 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Phoenix, AZ at 00:00Z on 2002-09-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -2 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
185 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-112 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2265 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
27 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.

284 
WUUS55 KTWC 120238
SVRTWC
AZC011-120330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
738 PM MST WED SEP 11 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL GREENLEE COUNTY IN ARIZONA

* UNTIL 830 PM MST

* AT 738 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 9 MILES NORTH OF MORENCI...OR ABOUT 30 MILES
  NORTHEAST OF SAFFORD...MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH.

GO INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. DAMAGING WINDS...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND
HEAVY RAINS ARE LIKELY.

LAT...LON 3304 10945 3285 10934 3341 10917 3350 10944

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 Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Sep 11, 2:30 PM MST, 5 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 11, 2:30 PM MST, 5 hours 8 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
230 PM MST WED SEP 11 2002

.SYNOPSIS...WE WILL SLOWLY LOSE OUR MOISTURE SUPPLY OVER THE NEXT
SEVERAL DAYS WITH A GRADUAL END IN THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. A MUCH
DRIER AIRMASS WILL OVERSPREAD THE DESERT SOUTHWEST FOR THE UPCOMING
WEEKEND. THIS WILL BRING TEMPERATURES BACK TO NEAR OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE
NORMAL BY THE WEEKEND.

.DISCUSSION...WARM AIR ALOFT HAS PUT A LID ON MOST STORMS AND EVEN
THE ONES THAT GROW STILL ARE NO WHERE NEAR YESTERDAYS STORMS. STILL
EXPECT A STORM OR TWO TO POP UP THIS EVENING IN PIMA...SANTA CRUZ
COUNTY. WEAK UPPER DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE INTO THE STATE THURSDAY AND
MODELS COOL US BACK DOWN AGAIN AT H5 SO WILL KEEP POPS IN TUS AND
EAST AS THERE WILL BE ENOUGH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IN PLACE FOR STORMS.
FRIDAY SEEMS ON TO SO HAVE LEFT MENTION IN FOR THAT DAY ALSO. THEN
WE ARE OUT OF MOISTURE AND STORMS AS NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT CHASES THE
MONSOON BOUNDARY INTO MEXICO. WE WILL HAVE WEAK RIDGING NEXT WEEK
FOR DELIGHTFUL MORNINGS AND NOT TOO HOT AFTERNOONS.

.TWC...NONE.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 11, 5:30 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise45 min
Sep 11, 6:37 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCGraham38 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.