Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 27, NWS Tucson, AZ

July 31, 2003Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Jul 31, 2003, 2:10 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 20 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 31, 2003, 2:10 PM MST (21:10 UTC)
Expired
Jul 31, 2003, 2:30 PM MST
In force
20 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), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:13 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 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 50 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 12:00Z on 2003-07-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 203 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, Tuscon, AZ at 12:00Z on 2003-07-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -48 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
203 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-126 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1827 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-48 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
13 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 312111
FFWTWC
AZC019-312230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
210 PM MST THU JUL 31 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY IN ARIZONA
    THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...ORO VALLEY...MARANA...PICTURE ROCKS

* UNTIL 330 PM MST

* AT 210 PM MST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED            
  THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN FROM ORO VALLEY TO PICTURE      
  ROCKS WESTWARD TO THE SILVERBELL MOUNTAINS. THESE THUNDERSTORMS    
  ARE SHOWING VERY LITTLE MOVEMENT. 

NEVER DRIVE INTO A FLOODED AREA. THE ROAD AHEAD MAY BE UNDERMINED OR
WASHED AWAY. ABANDON VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER IMMEDIATELY.

LAT...LON 3250 11172 3224 11147 3222 11107 3251 11077
          3251 11134

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 31, 4:34 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCSanta Cruz26 min
Jul 31, 4:53 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCSanta Cruz

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.