Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 59, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 25, 2003Pima County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 25, 2003, 4:54 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 36 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 25, 2003, 4:54 PM MST (23:54 UTC)
Expired
Aug 25, 2003, 5:30 PM MST
In force
36 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), 41 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:57 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, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 10 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 2003-08-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 21 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 2003-08-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 42 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
21 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-297 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1741 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
38 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 252356
FFWTWC
AZC019-260130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
454 PM MST MON AUG 25 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN PIMA COUNTY IN ARIZONA
    THIS INCLUDES...MARANA...EAST TUCSON...SABINO CANYON

* UNTIL 630 PM MST

* AT 450 PM MST...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY
  IN AREAS OF EASTERN PIMA COUNTY...INCLUDING MARANA...THE CATALINA
  AND RINCON MOUNTAINS NORTH AND EAST OF TUCSON...AND SAGUARO NATIONAL
  PARK WEST WHICH IS WEST OF TUCSON. STORM MOVEMENT WAS TO THE WEST
  AND SOUTHWEST AT ABOUT 10 MPH.

MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN VEHICLES. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS
FLOWING WATER...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT. NORMALLY DRY STREAMBEDS
AND WASHES WILL FLOW HEAVILY...WITH SOME POSSIBLY EXCEEDING BANKFULL.

LAT...LON 3188 11131 3179 11046 3252 11047 3250 11137

MEYER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 24, 5:15 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima30 min
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

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.