Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 7, NWS Phoenix, AZ

July 13, 2003Gila County, Arizona

NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 13, 2003, 4:23 PM MST for Gila County, Arizona. It was in force for 37 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 13, 2003, 4:23 PM MST (23:23 UTC)
Expired
Jul 13, 2003, 5:00 PM MST
In force
37 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), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:22 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

Phoenix, AZ (KPSR), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Phoenix, AZ at 12:00Z on 2003-07-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 457 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Phoenix, AZ at 12:00Z on 2003-07-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -88 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
457 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-660 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2725 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-88 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-56 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 132323
SVRPSR
AZC007-140000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
420 PM MST SUN JUL 13 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 500 PM MST

* AT 420 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST NORTH OF GLOBE...MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 20 
  MPH.  LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE GLOBE...
  CLAYPOOL...AND MIAMI.

DAMAGING MICROBURST WINDS...HAIL...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS  
POSSIBLE. TAKE COVER IN A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.

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 3341 11066 3354 11077 3343 11095 3330 11085

$$

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 13, 3:30 PM MST, 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 13, 3:30 PM MST, 53 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-140545-

SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX ARIZONA
330 PM MST SUN JUL 13 2003

.SYNOPSIS...
STRONG HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER ARIZONA IS EXPECTED TO RESULT IN
ONE MORE DAY OF NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES. THEN...THE HIGH
PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL SHIFT NORTHEAST TO NEAR THE 4 CORNERS. THUS...
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA
THIS WEEK ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD WEST TO SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA BY LATE
WEEK IN A FLOW ALOFT FROM THE SOUTHEAST. THERE WILL ALSO BE AREAS OF
BLOWING DUST AND LOWER TEMPERATURES. RELATIVELY HUMID AIR IS EXPECTED
THIS WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...
MID AFTERNOON SURFACE TEMPERATURES WERE A FEW DEGREES HIGHER TODAY
COMPARED WITH THE SAME TIME YESTERDAY. LITTLE CHANGE IS ANTICIPATED
FOR MONDAY. THUS...WILL CONTINUE THE HEAT ADVISORY. THERE WAS NEARLY
AS MUCH MOISTURE IN SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON AS
YESTERDAY. THUS...HAVE A SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN
FOR SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY THIS EVENING WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WITH BLOWING DUST MOVING INTO THE SOUTH-CENTRAL DESERT
AREAS INCLUDING PHOENIX THIS EVENING. A MORE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN
MOISTURE IS ANTICIPATED THIS WEEK AS THE HIGH PRESSURE CENTER OVER
ARIZONA SHIFTS NORTHEAST. ALSO...ADDITIONAL GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MOISTURE IS EXPECTED BEGINNING MONDAY. THERE WILL BE A BETTER
POSSIBILITY OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...DEVELOPING WEST INTO
SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA DURING THE LAST HALF OF THE WEEK.

.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 MONDAY.
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 13, 6:00 AM MST, 10 hours 23 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-140100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
600 AM MST SUN JUL 13 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST AND
SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

VERY HOT WEATHER WILL PREVAIL TODAY WITH SOME NEW RECORD HIGHS
EXPTECTED TO BE ESTABLISHED. A HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR
THE SOUTH-CENTRAL DESERTS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

HOT WEATHER WILL CONTINUE MONDAY WITH A HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR
THE SOUTH-CENTRAL DESERTS. A GRADUAL LOWERING OF TEMPERATURES IS
ANTICIPATED THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE WEEK...BUT INCREASING RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES WILL OFFSET THIS SOMEWHAT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 12, 5:37 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPSRGila38 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.