Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 4, NWS Phoenix, AZ

August 14, 2003Pinal County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 14, 2003, 5:10 PM MST for Pinal County, Arizona. It was in force for 50 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, 5:10 PM MST (00:10 UTC)
Expired: Aug 14, 2003, 6:00 PM MST
In force: 50 min
Issued by: NWS Phoenix, AZ
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Pinal County, AZ

The radar

The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 30 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:09 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 nearest sounding before it

Phoenix, AZ (KPSR), launched 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 51 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: 485 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -55 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2530 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 19 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: -0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS55 KPSR 150012
FFWPSR
AZC021-150200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
510 PM MST THU AUG 14 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

* UNTIL 700 PM MST

* AT 510 PM MST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY       
  HEAVY RAIN CONTINUED OVER AND JUST SOUTHEAST OF SACATON. RADAR     
  INDICATES IN EXCESS OF 2 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN IN THE PAST     
  HOUR NEAR THE JUNCTION OF STATE ROUTES 87 AND 387...JUST NORTHEAST 
  OF SACATON PEAK. 

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF WASHES 
AND STREAMS...ROADS AND ROADSIDE CULVERTS. MOTORISTS ON STATE ROUTES 
387 AND 87...AS WELL AS OTHER ROADWAYS FROM SACATON TO JUST WEST OF 
THE CASA GRANDE NATIONAL MONUMENT...ARE URGED TO EXERCISE EXTREME 
CAUTION. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS 
THE ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO 
CROSS SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED 
QUICKLY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

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
PHOENIX.

LAT...LON 3294 11181 3294 11160 3315 11159 3315 11180

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 14, 5:17 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Pinal	58 min
Aug 14, 6:06 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Gila	54 min
Aug 14, 6:07 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	53 min
Aug 14, 6:35 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	55 min
Aug 14, 7:29 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	61 min
Aug 14, 7:33 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	57 min
Aug 14, 8:23 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	PSR	Maricopa	37 min
Aug 14, 8:28 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PSR	Maricopa	62 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 2003 Every 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.