Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 48, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 22, 2003Santa Cruz County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 22, 2003, 2:52 PM MST for Santa Cruz County, Arizona. It was in force for 23 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 22, 2003, 2:52 PM MST (21:52 UTC)
Expired
Aug 22, 2003, 3:15 PM MST
In force
23 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), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:55 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, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 76 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 2003-08-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 451 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 2003-08-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 46 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
451 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-202 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2025 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
109 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS55 KTWC 222153
FFWTWC
AZC023-222315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
252 PM MST FRI AUG 22 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY IN ARIZONA
    THIS INCLUDES THE TOWN OF RIO RICO

* UNTIL 415 PM MST

* AT 250 PM MST...SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED VERY HEAVY RAIN NEAR
  RIO RICO...OR 7 MILES NORTH OF NOGALES...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 15    
  MPH.

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

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

LAT...LON 3138 11114 3153 11131 3153 11116 3171 11116
          3162 11101 3154 11086 3135 11088

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 21, 6:29 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCGraham46 min
Aug 22, 3:25 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima35 min
Aug 22, 3:46 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima44 min
Aug 22, 4:26 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima34 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.