Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 40, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 18, 2003Pima County, Santa Cruz County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 18, 2003, 2:07 PM MST for Pima County, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. It was in force for 53 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, 2:07 PM MST (21:07 UTC)
Expired
Aug 18, 2003, 3:00 PM MST
In force
53 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Pima County, AZ, Santa Cruz County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 51 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:07 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, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 57 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°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 182115 CCA
FFWTWC
AZC019-023-182300-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SOUTH CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY IN ARIZONA
  NORTHWEST SANTA CRUZ COUNTY IN ARIZONA

* UNTIL 400 PM MST

* AT 157 PM MST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER  
  OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER THE SIERRITA AND        
  TUMACACORI MOUNTAINS WEST OF INTERSTATE 10...MOVING WEST AT 5 MPH.

FLASH FLOODING RUNNING OFF THESE MOUNTAINS WILL AFFECT ARIVACA AND 
DUVAL MINE ROADS WEST OF INTERSTATE 19. DO NOT DRIVE INTO FLOODED 
AREAS. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

LAT...LON 3152 11114 3151 11086 3200 11105 3191 11137

PYTLAK
CORRECTED FOR REFERENCE TO INTERSTATE 19

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 18, 12:57 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCSanta Cruz33 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.