Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 6, NWS Phoenix, AZ

July 12, 2003Gila County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 12, 2003, 5:37 PM MST for Gila County, Arizona. It was in force for 38 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
Jul 12, 2003, 5:37 PM MST (00:37 UTC)
Expired
Jul 12, 2003, 6:15 PM MST
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Phoenix, AZ
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Gila County, AZ

The radar

The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 103 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:40 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

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 121 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tuscon, AZ at 00:00Z on 2003-07-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1107 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tuscon, AZ at 00:00Z on 2003-07-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -15 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1107 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3619 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
44 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS55 KPSR 130037
SVRPSR
AZC007-130115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
535 PM MST SAT JUL 12 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EXTREME SOUTH CENTRAL GILA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA

* UNTIL 615 PM MST

* AT 535 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER EXTREME SOUTH CENTRAL GILA COUNTY...OR
  ABOUT 17 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GLOBE...MOVING SOUTH AT 10 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  SAN CARLOS LAKE AT 545 PM MST

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 3326 11044 3339 11073 3303 11077 3319 11046

$$

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 Jul 12, 3:30 PM MST, 2 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 12, 3:30 PM MST, 2 hours 7 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-130545-

SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX ARIZONA
330 PM MST SAT JUL 12 2003

.SYNOPSIS...
STRONG HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER ARIZONA WILL CONTINUE TO RESULT IN
HOT WEATHER THIS WEEKEND AND EARLY THIS COMING WEEK. THEN...THE HIGH
PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL SHIFT NORTHEAST TO NEAR THE 4 CORNERS THIS
COMING WEEK...WITH A POSSIBILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE HIGHER
TERRAIN OF SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA DEVELOPING WEST OVER THE SOUTH-
CENTRAL DESERT AREAS INCLUDING PHOENIX THIS COMING WEEK...AND WEST
TO SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA BY MID WEEK. THERE WILL ALSO BE AREAS OF
BLOWING DUST AND LOWER TEMPERATURES. RELATIVELY HUMID AIR IS EXPECTED
TO CONTINUE THIS COMING WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...
MID AFTERNOON SURFACE TEMPERATURES WERE AVERAGING A FEW DEGREES
HIGHER TODAY COMPARED WITH THE SAME TIME YESTERDAY. WITH SLIGHT
FURTHER WARMING OF THE AIRMASS...EXPECT HIGH TEMPERATURES TO BE
SLIGHTLY HIGHER SUNDAY. THERE WAS AT LEAST AS MUCH MOISTURE IN
SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON AS YESTERDAY. THUS...HAVE A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN FOR SOUTHERN GILA
COUNTY INTO NORTH-CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY THIS EVENING AND AGAIN SUNDAY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH BLOWING DUST POSSIBLE OVER THE
SOUTH-CENTRAL DESERT AREAS. OVERALL...MOISTURE IS EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE A GRADUAL INCREASE SUNDAY AND MONDAY. A MORE SIGNIFICANT
INCREASE IS ANTICIPATED THIS COMING WEEK...AS THE HIGH PRESSURE
CENTER OVER ARIZONA SHIFTS NORTHEAST. THUS...HAVE INCREASED THE
CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING WEST INTO SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA
BY MID WEEK. WITH WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS IN A FLOW ALOFT FROM THE
EAST...THERE WILL BE AT LEAST A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS AT ANYTIME OF DAY OR NIGHT BEGINNING TUESDAY...WHICH
IS REFLECTED IN THE LATEST FORECAST.

.PSR...HEAT ADVISORY FOR SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA DESERT ZONES 22...23
       27...AND 28...MARICOPA COUNTY INCLUDING THE GREATER PHOENIX
       AREA...AND NORTHWEST AND NORTH-CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY.

ELLIS
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 12, 6:00 AM MST, 11 hours 37 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-130100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
600 AM MST SAT JUL 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...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 13, 4:23 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRGila37 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.