Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 44, NWS Phoenix, AZ
NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 20, 2003, 1:27 PM MST for Yuma County, Arizona. It was in force for 63 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 20, 2003, 1:27 PM MST (20:27 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 20, 2003, 2:30 PM MST
- In force
- 63 min
- Issued by
- NWS Phoenix, AZ
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Yuma County, AZ
The radar
The Yuma radar (KYUX), 17 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:27 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
Yuma Prvg Ground, AZ (K1Y7), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 10 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
- 4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -263 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1937 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 44 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 33 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 202027 SVRPSR AZC027-202130- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 125 PM MST WED AUG 20 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... SOUTHWEST YUMA COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ARIZONA * UNTIL 230 PM MST * AT 125 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTHEAST OF YUMA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH. THE STORM WILL AFFECT THE AREA BETWEEN YUMA AND FORTUNA FOOTHILLS. DAMAGING MICROBURST WINDS ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. VERY HEAVY RAIN IS ALSO POSSIBLE. TAKE COVER IN A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES. HEAVY RAINS MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS DITCHES AND UNDERPASSES. AVOID THESE AREAS AND DO NOT CROSS FLOODED ROADS AS THEY MAY BE WASHED OUT. WATER LEVELS OF WASHES...SMALL STREAMS AND RIVERS MAY ALSO RISE...THEREFORE SEEK HIGHER GROUND IF FLOOD WATERS THREATEN. 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 3248 11467 3239 11438 3263 11420 3278 11454 $$
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 20, 10:30 AM MST, 2 hours 57 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 10:30 AM MST, 2 hours 57 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-201745- SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 1030 AM MST WED AUG 20 2003 .SYNOPSIS... A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE NORTH ACROSS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHWEST ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. THIS MEANS A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHWEST ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT OVER NEW MEXICO WILL MOVE NORTH TO COLORADO BY THURSDAY...AND STAY TO THE NORTH THROUGH MONDAY. THIS MEANS A MOIST FLOW OF AIR FROM THE EAST WITH A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. .DISCUSSION... LATE MORNING TEMPERATURES WERE GENERALLY 9 TO 14 DEGREES WARMER IN THE PHOENIX AREA AND NORTH PORTION OF THE WEST CENTRAL DESERT AREAS COMPARED WITH THE SAME TIME YESTERDAY. THIS WAS DUE TO SUNNY SKIES THIS MORNING WITH THE LACK OF CLOUD COVER THERE WAS YESTERDAY. OTHERWISE...TEMPERATURES WERE GENERALLY 4 OR 4 DEGREES WARMER IN THE SOUTH PORTION OF SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA...AND 2 OR 3 DEGREES COOLER IN FAR SOUTHWEST ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA. THE AIRMASS IS STILL MOIST AND UNSTABLE. THUS...WITH A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING NORTH ACROSS THE AREA...MAINLY SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHWEST ARIZONA...EXPECT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP PARTICULARLY IN THOSE AREAS THIS AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING IN THE SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA DESERT AREAS INCLUDING PHOENIX AS WELL AND PLAN ON UPDATING FOR THIS. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALREADY DEVELOPING IN JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK LATE THIS MORNING AND CONSIDERING A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THIS AREA FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT CENTERED OVER NEW MEXICO WILL MOVE NORTH TO COLORADO BY THURSDAY...AND STAY TO THE NORTH THROUGH MONDAY. THIS MEANS A MOIST FLOW OF AIR FROM THE EAST WITH A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS IN THIS FLOW ARE EXPECTED TO ENHANCE THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AT TIMES WHICH IS EXPECTED TO BE THE CASE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. ELLIS .PSR...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 20, 12:40 PM MST, 47 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-210100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 1240 PM MST WED AUG 20 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHWEST ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA UNTIL 9 PM THIS EVENING. PLEASE SEE THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH PRODUCT PHXHWOPSR OR WMO HEADER WGUS65 KPSR FFAPSR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .INSTRUCTIONS TO SPOTTERS... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. ELLIS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Phoenix, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20, 2:10 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | PSR | Yuma | 50 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.