Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 36, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 14, 2003Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 14, 2003, 4:48 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 117 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 14, 2003, 4:48 PM MST (23:48 UTC)
Expired
Aug 14, 2003, 6:45 PM MST
In force
117 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 23:48 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, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 21 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 2003-08-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 348 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 2003-08-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 64 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
348 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-147 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1377 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
64 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
62 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS55 KTWC 142349
FFWTWC
AZC019-150245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
448 PM MST THU AUG 14 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 745 PM MST

* AT 445 PM MST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF  
  THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY EXTENDING FROM THE BIOSPHERE TO THE  
  RINCON MOUNTAINS...MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 10 MPH.

AUTOMATED GAGES ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CATALINAS WERE REPORTING 
RAINFALL RATES OF AN INCH IN ONLY 10 MINUTES. A SPOTTER IN ORACLE 
REPORTED 1.80 INCHES IN LESS THAN 30 MINUTES FROM THIS LINE. 

RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE LIKELY WITH THESE SLOW MOVING 
STORMS IN PORTIONS OF THE CANADA DEL ORO WASH...SABINO CREEK...AGUA 
CALIENTE...AND TANQUE VERDE BASINS. STREETS...UNDERPASSES AND 
NORMALLY DRY WASHES WILL FLOOD QUICKLY. DO NOT DRIVE INTO FLOODED 
AREAS OF AROUND BARRICADES. IF THE ROAD AHEAD IS BLOCKED...TURN 
AROUND AND TAKE ANOTHER ROUTE.

LAT...LON 3252 11064 3208 11048 3205 11099 3251 11121

PYTLAK

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 13, 6:04 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPinal41 min
Aug 14, 1:49 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPinal41 min
Aug 14, 3:29 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPinal46 min
Aug 14, 4:21 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima39 min
Aug 14, 4:26 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPinal4 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.