Alert archive / Arizona / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Flagstaff, AZ

August 14, 2003Coconino County, Gila County, Navajo County, Arizona

NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued this tornado warning at Aug 14, 2003, 5:35 PM MST for Coconino County, Gila County, Navajo County, Arizona. It was in force for 25 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: Aug 14, 2003, 5:35 PM MST (00:35 UTC)
Expired: Aug 14, 2003, 6:00 PM MST
In force: 25 min
Issued by: NWS Flagstaff, AZ
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Coconino County, AZ, Gila County, AZ, Navajo County, AZ

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 36 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:34 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.

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 14, 1:45 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Flgstf/Belemont, AZ (KFGZ), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 123 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: 603 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -34 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1999 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 166 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 5.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS55 KFGZ 150035
TORFGZ
AZC005-007-017-150100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
533 PM MST THU AUG 14 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FLAGSTAFF HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL GILA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA
  EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN COCONINO COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
  SOUTHWESTERN NAVAJO COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ARIZONA

* UNTIL 600 PM MST

* AT 529 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN NAVAJO COUNTY...OR ABOUT 14 MILES
  NORTHEAST OF FOREST LAKES...MOVING WEST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO PRODUCING STORM IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...2 TO 5 MILES 
NORTH OF HIGHWAY 260 WEST OF HEBER UNTIL 600 PM

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. 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 900 PM MST
THURSDAY EVENING FOR EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA.

LAT...LON 3446 11059 3463 11066 3453 11117 3431 11108

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 14, 5:00 PM MST	Tornado Warning	FGZ	Navajo	30 min
Aug 14, 5:26 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino, Gila, Navajo	49 min
Aug 14, 6:01 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Gila	44 min
Aug 14, 6:08 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino	22 min
Aug 14, 6:22 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino, Yavapai	23 min
Aug 14, 6:41 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino, Yavapai	34 min
Aug 14, 7:42 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Yavapai	33 min
Aug 14, 8:06 PM MST	Tornado Warning	FGZ	Yavapai	24 min
Aug 14, 9:03 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino, Yavapai	42 min
Aug 15, 3:59 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino	31 min
Aug 15, 4:04 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino	26 min
Aug 15, 4:13 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino	32 min
Aug 15, 4:35 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino	25 min
Aug 15, 4:44 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	FGZ	Coconino	61 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Arizona, 2003 Every tornado warning in 2003 Tornadoes 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.