Alert archive / California / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 30, NWS Phoenix, AZ
NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 12, 2003, 5:39 PM PDT for Imperial County, California. It was in force for 36 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 12, 2003, 5:39 PM PDT (00:39 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 12, 2003, 6:15 PM PDT
- In force
- 36 min
- Issued by
- NWS Phoenix, AZ
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Imperial County, CA
The radar
The San Diego radar (KNKX), 97 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:38 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
San Diego, CA (KNKX), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 111 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 3545 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 4 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 37 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WUUS55 KPSR 130039 SVRPSR CAC025-130115- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 537 PM PDT TUE AUG 12 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... SOUTHWESTERN IMPERIAL COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA * UNTIL 615 PM PDT * AT 535 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER OCOTILLO...MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE AFFECTING INTERSTATE 8 NEAR OCOTILLO AND HIGHWAY S2 NORTHWEST OF OCOTILLO. DAMAGING MICROBURST WINDS ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. VERY HEAVY RAIN IS ALSO POSSIBLE. TAKE COVER IN A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES. VERY LARGE HAIL IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THE STORM...PUT YOUR CAR IN A GARAGE AND MOVE TO A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN PHOENIX. LAT...LON 3266 11608 3271 11587 3307 11593 3301 11608 $$
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 Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 12, 4:50 PM PDT, 49 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 12, 4:50 PM PDT, 49 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-130545- SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 450 PM MST TUE AUG 12 2003 .SYNOPSIS... STRONG HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RECORD HOT WEATHER LATELY WILL SLOWLY SHIFT NORTHEAST TO THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS AND THE UPPER MIDWEST THE NEXT FEW DAYS. AT THE SAME TIME...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM FROM LOUISIANA WILL MOVE WEST INTO ARIZONA FRIDAY. AS THE SYSTEM APPROACHES...CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED TO BECOME MORE FAVORABLE FOR STORM ACTIVITY BEGINNING WEDNESDAY IN SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA AND EXPANDING INTO SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. IN ADDITION...TEMPERATURES WILL DECREASE NOTICEABLY...MAINLY IN SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA. OVER THE WEEKEND...THE UPPER LOW WILL SHIFT NORTHEASTWARD ALLOWING A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE TO REDEVELOP BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL LEAD TO A GRADUAL WARMING TREND WITH DECREASING CHANCES FOR STORMS. .DISCUSSION... ONLY ISOLATED STORMS OVER EASTERN PARTS OF ARIZONA SO FAR THIS AFTERNOON. TONIGHT DOES NOT LOOK ANY MORE FAVORABLE FOR STORMS THAN LAST NIGHT...THUS HAVE POPS CONFINED MAINLY TO THE SOUTH-CENTRAL HIGHER TERRAIN. THINGS CHANGE BEGINNING WEDNESDAY. GIVEN THE PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED UNCERTAINTIES...HAVE MAINTAINED A CONSERVATIVE APPROACH. MADE SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO PREVIOUS FORECAST PACKAGE INCLUDING LESS OF A DOWN TREND IN TEMPS. BY SATURDAY...THE GFS STILL HAS THE UPPER LOW CIRCULATION OVER ARIZONA...BUT THE STEERING FLOW IS NOT ESPECIALLY FAVORABLE. NO SIGNIFICANT VERTICAL MOTIONS ARE PROGGED EITHER. THUS WILL CALL FOR A TREND FOR DECREASING POPS IN THE EXTENDED. .PSR...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 12, 6:00 AM PDT, 11 hours 39 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-130100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 600 AM MST TUE AUG 12 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. HOWEVER... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WIND... HAIL...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...MAY OCCUR OVER SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA WEDNESDAY EVENING...AND OVER SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DENSE BLOWING DUST MAY BE GENERATED BY THUNDERSTORM OUTFLOW OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL DESERT AREAS.
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in California, 2003Every severe thunderstorm 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.