Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 39, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 18, 2003Santa Cruz County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 18, 2003, 12:57 PM MST for Santa Cruz County, Arizona. It was in force for 33 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 18, 2003, 12:57 PM MST (19:57 UTC)
Expired
Aug 18, 2003, 1:30 PM MST
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Santa Cruz County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 36 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:58 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, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 64 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 2003-08-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 178 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 2003-08-18The 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
178 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-282 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2570 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
23 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 181958
FFWTWC
AZC023-182130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1257 PM MST MON AUG 18 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL SANTA CRUZ COUNTY IN ARIZONA

* UNTIL 230 PM MST

* AT 1248 PM MST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
  RAIN 8 MILES NORTH OF PATAGONIA...OR ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
  GREEN VALLEY...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 5 MPH.

* THE THUNDERSTORM WITH EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL BE NEAR...
   MADERA CANYON AT 115 PM MST

THIS WILL LIKELY CAUSE FLASH FLOODING ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE SANTA 
RITA MOUNTAINS...INCLUDING ADOBE CANYON ROAD...WOOD CANYON 
ROAD...AND CASA BLANCA CANYON ROAD.  THE FLOOD WATERS WILL THEN 
PROCEED DOWNSTREAM INTO SONOITA CREEK. THIS STORM IS ALSO LIKELY TO 
PRODUCE HAIL UP TO A HALF AN INCH IN DIAMETER.

LAT...LON 3151 11087 3152 11060 3174 11071 3173 11096

PYTLAK

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 18, 2:07 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima, Santa Cruz53 min
Aug 18, 2:40 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima110 min
Aug 18, 3:55 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima65 min
Aug 18, 4:45 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPinal15 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.