Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 24, NWS Flagstaff, AZ

September 6, 2003Gila County, Navajo County, Arizona

NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Sep 6, 2003, 1:54 PM MST for Gila County, Navajo County, Arizona. It was in force for 66 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 6, 2003, 1:54 PM MST (20:54 UTC)
Expired
Sep 6, 2003, 3:00 PM MST
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Flagstaff, AZ
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Gila County, AZ, Navajo County, AZ

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 93 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:55 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 flash flood 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 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 144 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 12:00Z on 2003-09-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1649 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Phoenix, AZ at 12:00Z on 2003-09-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 36 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
1649 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-81 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1453 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
36 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
32 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.

000 
WGUS55 KFGZ 062059
FFWFGZ
AZC007-017-062300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
154 PM MST SAT SEP 6 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FLAGSTAFF HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL GILA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA
  SOUTH CENTRAL NAVAJO COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ARIZONA

* UNTIL 400 PM MST

* AT 149 PM MST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY 
RAIN JUST NORTH OF CIBECUE. THE AREA OF HEAVY RAIN WAS NEARLY 
STATIONARY. THIS WARNING INCLUDES CIBEQUE CREEK.

RADAR INDICATED OVER 2 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN OVER THE CIBEQUE 
CREEK BASIN. FLOOD WATERS WILL BE MOVING DOWN CIBEQUE CREEK.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY.
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS
SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY
AUTOMOBILE. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS, ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND SEEK
HIGHER GROUND.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN
FLAGSTAFF.

LAT...LON 3381 11067 3386 11056 3384 11041 3414 11032
          3417 11063

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Sep 6, 9:30 AM MST, 4 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 6, 9:30 AM MST, 4 hours 24 minutes before
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
930 AM MST SAT SEP 06 2003

.SYNOPSIS...EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AS LOW
LEVEL MOISTURE REMAINS OVER THE STATE. FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY...A
DRIER AIR MASS WILL RESULT IN ONLY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. A
STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS UTAH TUESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY...BRINGING ANOTHER CHANCE OF RAIN TO MUCH OF NORTHERN
ARIZONA.

.DISCUSSION...A VERY MOIST AIR MASS WILL REMAIN ACROSS ARIZONA
TODAY. A SHORT-WAVE TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED JET MAX WILL CONTINUE TO
BRING WEAK UPWARD MOTION TO NORTHERN THROUGH THE DAY. IN
ADDITION...THE LOW LEVEL FLOW IS EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN WHICH WILL
ENHANCE THE FLOW OF MOISTURE INTO ANY STORMS. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE
MOST NUMEROUS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM WHERE THE BEST
COMBINATION OF MOISTURE...LARGE SCALE UPWARD MOTION AND TERRAIN
INDUCED LIFT WILL BE LOCATED. LOCALIZED FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE
TODAY ESPECIALLY IN NORTHERN YAVAPAI AND GILA COUNTIES.

FOR SUNDAY DRIER AND WARMER AIR ALOFT BEHIND THE CURRENT SHORT-WAVE
TROUGH WILL RESULT IN A MORE STABLE ATMOSPHERE WITH JUST ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS OVER MOST OF NORTHERN ARIZONA. STORMS WILL REMAIN
SCATTERED NEAR THE NEW MEXICO BORDER WHERE THE THETA-E RIDGE WILL BE
LOCATED. MONDAY LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO SUNDAY AT THIS POINT.
HOWEVER...THE LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL BE TURNING MORE SOUTHERLY DURING
THE DAY AND THE DEEP MOISTURE THAT WILL BE JUST TO OUR SOUTH COULD
SURGE BACK EARLIER THAN THE MODELS ARE SHOWING. WE WILL BE KEEPING A
CLOSE EYE ON MONDAY.

MOISTURE RETURNS FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY FOR A POTENTIALLY VERY
WET TWO DAYS.

.NOTE...EFFECTIVE WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 1 2003...THE TEMPERATURES AND
PROBABILITIES OF PRECIPITATION TABLE (BELOW) WILL NO LONGER BE
APPENDED TO THIS PRODUCT. THE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH PREVAILING
DAYTIME WEATHER...WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE RECENTLY ADOPTED TABULAR
STATE FORECAST (SFT). THE SFT PROVIDES THESE FORECASTS THROUGH 7
DAYS. THE WMO HEADER FOR THIS PRODUCT IS FPUS65 KPSR. THE PRODUCT
IDENTIFIER IS PHXSFTAZ. USING THE INTERNET...YOU CAN ACCESS THE SFT
DIRECTLY AT HTTP://WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/CGI-BIN/GPRODUCT.PL?FLGPHXSFTAZ

.FGZ...NONE.

.CODED TEMPERATURES/POPS FOR SELECTED CITIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA

CITY             TEMPERATURES HI/LO           PROBABILITY OF PRECIP
                 TDY TON   SUN     MON        TDY TON   SUN   MON
FLAGSTAFF        075/048 077/046 076/048      040 030 020 000 020 010
WINSLOW          086/061 089/058 088/060      020 020 000 000 000 000
PRESCOTT         083/058 085/057 084/059      040 030 020 000 000 000
PAGE             089/069 091/068 089/070      030 020 000 000 000 000
WINDOW ROCK      078/052 080/049 079/051      040 030 020 020 020 020
CANYON DE CHELLY 084/064 086/061 085/063      030 020 000 000 010 000
COTTONWOOD       095/066 097/065 096/067      030 020 000 000 000 000
GRAND CANYON     077/052 079/050 077/050      030 020 000 000 000 000
GREER            070/047 074/045 073/047      040 030 020 020 020 020
HEBER            079/053 081/051 081/051      040 030 020 000 020 010
JACOB LAKE       072/048 074/046 073/048      030 020 000 000 000 000
NAVAJO N.M.      076/058 078/055 077/057      040 020 010 000 010 000
PAYSON           089/058 091/057 089/059      030 030 000 000 000 000
SEDONA           092/065 094/064 092/066      030 020 010 000 000 000
SELIGMAN         085/056 087/055 086/057      020 020 010 000 000 000
SHOW LOW         081/056 083/054 082/056      040 030 010 010 020 010
ST. JOHNS        085/060 088/057 087/056      030 020 010 010 010 010
WUPATKI N.M.     087/063 091/060 090/062      030 020 000 000 000 000
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 6, 10:00 AM MST, 3 hours 54 minutes before
AZZ004>018-037>040-070200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
1000 AM MST SAT SEP 6 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO...NORTHERN
GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A VERY MOIST AIR MASS WILL REMAIN OVER NORTHERN ARIZONA TODAY. AS A
RESULT...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED MOST OF THE DAY.
LOCALIZED FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER NORTHERN YAVAPAI
AND GILA COUNTIES WHERE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 1
TO 2 INCHES OF RAINFALL IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

DEFINITION OF HAZARDOUS WEATHER...A WEATHER EVENT POSING A THREAT
TO LIFE AND PROPERTY.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 6, 12:30 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZYavapai30 min
Sep 6, 4:39 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGZYavapai51 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 2003Every flash flood warning in 2003

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.