Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 37, NWS Phoenix, AZ
NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 14, 2003, 5:17 PM MST for Pinal County, Arizona. It was in force for 58 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, 5:17 PM MST (00:17 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 14, 2003, 6:15 PM MST
- In force
- 58 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), 27 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:19 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 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
Phoenix, AZ (KPSR), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 49 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
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WUUS55 KPSR 150017 SVRPSR AZC021-150115- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 517 PM MST THU AUG 14 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA * UNTIL 615 PM MST * AT 515 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR SANTAN...OR ABOUT 9 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SUN LAKES...MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 10 MPH. 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. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM MST THURSDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA. LAT...LON 3299 11155 3321 11174 3314 11197 3290 11176 $$
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 14, 3:20 PM MST, 1 hour 57 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 14, 3:20 PM MST, 1 hour 57 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-150545-
SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
320 PM MST THU AUG 14 2003
.SYNOPSIS...
VERY UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL BE THE RULE ACROSS SOUTHWEST ARIZONA AND
SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA INTO THE WEEKEND AS AN UPPER LOW DRIFTS OVER
THE REGION FROM THE EAST. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL RUMBLE ACROSS
SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS EVENING...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE
WEATHER. AFTER TONIGHT...A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL
CONTINUE...WITH ACTIVITY EXPECTED TO DECREASE SOMEWHAT OVER THE
UPCOMING WEEKEND. TEMPERATURES WILL BE WELL BELOW NORMAL ACROSS
SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA ON FRIDAY DUE TO THE RAIN-COOLED AIR...WITH
READINGS EXPECTED TO REBOUND OVER THE WEEKEND. THE WEATHER WILL
RETURN TO A MORE NORMAL MONSOON PATTERN THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK.
.DISCUSSION...
LOTS OF PARAMETERS COMING TOGETHER FOR A VERY ACTIVE EVENING ACROSS
MAINLY ERN CWFA. THESE FACTORS INCLUDE A VERY MOIST...UNSTABLE
AIRMASS...A FAVORABLE NELY STEERING FLOW WITH LOTS OF SHEER IN THE
0-6KM LAYER...DIVERGENCE ALOFT WITH LARGE SCALE MID LEVEL CONVERGENCE
...DYNAMICS WITH APPROACHING INVERTED TROF...IE JUST ABOUT ALL ONE
COULD ASK FOR TO ENSURE LOTS OF WEATHER. AS A RESULT...HAVE GONE
WITH VERY HIGH POPS FOR SCNTRL AZ TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING WITH
LOWER NUMBERS FURTHER W. SPC ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON FOR BASICALLY SOUTH-CENTRAL INTO NE AZ TIL
04Z. IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAIN THREAT HAS PROMPTED US TO ISSUE FLASH
FLOOD WATCH FOR SCTNRL AZ UNTIL 12Z FRIDAY.
AFTER TONIGHT...INVERTED TROF MOVES INTO AZ AND THEN MEANDERS NWD
DURING THE WEEKEND. COOLER AIR ALOFT WILL SERVE TO DESTABLIZE THE
AMS EVEN FURTHER FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...ALTHOUGH IF TONIGHT IS ACTIVE
...WE WOULD HAVE LOTS OF CONVECTIVE INHIBITION TO OVERCOME IN THE
ABSENCE OF MORE UPPER FORCING. WE MAY HAVE SOME OF THAT BOTH FRIDAY
AND SATURDAY AS ADDITIONAL VORT MAXIMA ROTATE AROUND TROUGH. SO...
WILL BASICALLY KEEP CHANCE TYPE POPS GOING INTO SATURDAY...LOWERING
POPS A BIT ON SUNDAY...WITH A LOW GRADE MONSOON FORECAST MAINTAINED
MONDAY THRU THURSDAY.
.PSR...SVR TSTM WATCH SCNTRL AZ...ZONES 22...23...24...27 AND
28 TIL 04Z.
FLASH FLOOD WATCH SAME ZONES 00Z-12Z.Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 14, 6:19 AM MST, 10 hours 58 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-150100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 619 AM MST THU AUG 14 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL OCCUR LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG POSSIBLY DAMAGING WINDS...DENSE BLOWING DUST...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY AN UNUSUALLY STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING FROM TEXAS INTO ARIZONA WILL CONTINUE THE UNSETTLED WEATHER ON FRIDAY. A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...AND SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA. THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG POSSIBLY DAMAGING WINDS...DENSE BLOWING DUST...AND HEAVY RAINFALL. DECREASING THREATS FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. .INSTRUCTIONS TO SPOTTERS... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Phoenix, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 5:10 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | PSR | Pinal | 50 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
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 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.