Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 41, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 18, 2003Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 18, 2003, 2:40 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 110 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, 2:40 PM MST (21:40 UTC)
Expired
Aug 18, 2003, 4:30 PM MST
In force
110 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), 38 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:42 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, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 16 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 182144
FFWTWC
AZC019-190030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
240 PM MST MON AUG 18 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 AND THE ASPEN  
    FIRE BURN AREA

* UNTIL 530 PM MST

* AT 240 PM MST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED            
  THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN DEVELOPING OVER THE FOOTHILLS   
  NEAR SABINO CANYON...OVER THE TUCSON MOUNTAINS...AND NEAR          
  REDINGTON. THE STORMS WERE MOVING WEST AT ONLY 5 MPH. 

STREETS...UNDERPASSES AND NORMALLY DRY WASHES WILL FLOOD QUICKLY. 
THIS WILL BE ESPECIALLY TRUE IN SABINO AND BEAR CANYONS...AND TANQUE 
VERDE WASH. NOT DRIVE INTO FLOODED AREAS OF AROUND BARRICADES. IF 
THE ROAD AHEAD IS BLOCKED...TURN AROUND AND TAKE ANOTHER ROUTE.

LAT...LON 3206 11049 3251 11047 3243 11112 3204 11116

PYTLAK

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, 2:07 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima, Santa Cruz53 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.