Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 55, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 24, 2003Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 24, 2003, 5:15 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 30 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 24, 2003, 5:15 PM MST (00:15 UTC)
Expired
Aug 24, 2003, 5:45 PM MST
In force
30 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), 53 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:16 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 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 29 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 00:00Z on 2003-08-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 173 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 00:00Z on 2003-08-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -8 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
173 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-83 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2365 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
21 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS55 KTWC 250016
FFWTWC
AZC019-250145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
515 PM MST SUN AUG 24 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY IN ARIZONA
    THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF SAHUARITA...GREEN VALLEY...VAIL

* UNTIL 645 PM MST

* AT 515 PM MST...THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN CONTINUE TO MOVE     
  WEST ACROSS THE SAHUARITA AREA AND WILL MOVE INTO THREE POINTS
  IN THE NEXT HALF HOUR. SPOTTERS REPORTED HEAVY RAIN AND FLOODING
  SOUTH OF VAIL AND NEAR SAHUARITA. THIS WARNING REPLACES THE 
  PREVIOUS WARNING ISSUED FOR EAST CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY.

SMALL STREAMS...SECONDARY ROADS...AND NORMALLY DRY WASHES WILL FLOOD
QUICKLY. DO NOT DRIVE INTO FLOODED AREAS. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

LAT...LON 3213 11151 3174 11153 3174 11064 3215 11069
          3213 11104 3224 11126

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 24, 9:37 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima23 min
Aug 25, 3:07 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCSanta Cruz
Aug 25, 3:08 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCSanta Cruz57 min
Aug 25, 3:53 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCSanta Cruz12 min
Aug 25, 4:54 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima36 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.