Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Tucson, AZ

July 12, 2003Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Jul 12, 2003, 7:40 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 35 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, 7:40 PM MST (02:40 UTC)
Expired
Jul 12, 2003, 8:15 PM MST
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Pima County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 51 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:39 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 13 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 
WGUS55 KTWC 130241
FFWTWC
AZC019-130415-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
740 PM MST SAT JUL 12 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN PIMA COUNTY IN ARIZONA
    THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...TUCSON...ORO VALLEY...MARANA...
    GREEN VALLEY

* UNTIL 915 PM MST

* AT 735 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED VERY      
  HEAVY RAIN ACROSS TUCSON METRO AREA.

THIS FLASH FLOOD WARNING INCLUDES AREAS OVER THE ASPEN BURN 
AREAS...BE VERY CAUTIOUS IN THE SABINO CANYON AREA. NEVER DRIVE INTO 
A FLOODED AREA. THE ROAD AHEAD MAY BE UNDERMINED OR WASHED AWAY. 
ABANDON VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER IMMEDIATELY.

MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN VEHICLES. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS
FLOWING WATER...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT. DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN TO
PLAY NEAR DICTHES OR STORM DRAINS.

THIS FLASH FLOOD WARNING UPGRADES AND REPLACES THE URBAN AND SMALL
STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR THIS AREA.

LAT...LON 3250 11135 3176 11134 3176 11057 3251 11055

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 12, 6:19 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCSanta Cruz41 min
Jul 12, 6:28 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise, Pima47 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 2003Every flash flood 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.