Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 52, NWS Tucson, AZ
NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 28, 2003, 6:32 PM MST for Pima County, Arizona. It was in force for 43 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
- Jul 28, 2003, 6:32 PM MST (01:32 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 28, 2003, 7:15 PM MST
- In force
- 43 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), 33 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:32 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.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The nearest sounding before it
Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 11 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 998 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2492 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 2 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 83 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WUUS55 KTWC 290132
SVRTWC
AZC019-290215-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
631 PM MST MON JUL 28 2003
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
EAST CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY IN ARIZONA
INCLUDING SOUTH TUCSON
* UNTIL 715 PM MST
* AT 630 PM MST...SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED 70 MPH WIND
GUSTS AT THE PIMA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS. THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING
THESE WINDS IS MOVING WEST AT 15 MPH.
GO INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. DAMAGING WINDS...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND
HEAVY RAINS ARE LIKELY.
LAT...LON 3201 11102 3196 11074 3216 11074 3221 11101What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 28, 2:40 PM MST, 3 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 28, 2:40 PM MST, 3 hours 52 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
240 PM MST MON JUL 28 2003
.SYNOPSIS...PLENTY OF MOISTURE COMBINED WITH AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE
WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING
THUNDERSTORMS TO SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THROUGH THE COMING WEEK AND INTO
NEXT WEEKEND.
.DISCUSSION...ANOTHER DISTURBANCE MOVING AROUND UPPER RIDGE WILL BE
THE FOCUS OF STRONG THUNDERSTORM ACTION TONIGHT. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY
THIS AFTERNOON...AS OF 2 AM...SHOWED THIS DISTURBANCE OVER NEW
MEXICO BOOT...MOVING SOUTHWEST AROUND 20 MPH. SHEAR PROFILES NOT AS
GREAT AS YESTERDAY...BUT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE THREAT OF ORGANIZED
STORMS. ACTIVITY STARTING OFF MUCH EARLIER THAN SUNDAY AND MOVEMENT
OF STORMS A BIT FASTER ALSO. STILL THINK THAT DRIER/SUBSIDENT AIR
MOVING INTO EASTERN ZONES WILL LIMIT ACTIVITY IN THE ISOLATED TO LOW
SCATTERED VARIETY. BEST THREAT WILL BE FROM TUCSON WEST WHERE BEST
MOISTURE PROFILE EXISTS ALONG WITH UPPER DIVERGENCE ARES. STORMS
THAT FIRE ON THE HIGHER TERRAIN...LIKE THE RIM...WILL HAVE NOT
PROBLEM MARCHING DOWN INTO THE DESERT. SOME OF THE STORMS THIS
AFTERNOON ARE SHOWING THIS. BEST AREA FOR HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE
FROM TUCSON WEST. WILL HAVE TO WATCH AMOUNT OF RAIN IN CENTRAL PIMA
COUNTY WHERE RAINFALL OVER THE PAST SEVERAL NIGHTS HAVE LED TO RISES
ON VAMORI WASH WHERE WATERS ARE NOW OVER BANKFUL. ISSUED SMALL
STREAM FLOOD WARNING EARLIER TODAY...FIRST UNTIL 4 PM...BUT HAVE
DECIDED TO EXTEND IT UNTIL 10 PM. LATER SHIFTS WILL HAVE TO MONITOR
RAINFALL TOTALS TO SEE IT THE WARNING WILL HAVE TO BE EXTENDED.
STANDARD MONSOON FORECAST WILL CONTINUE UFN.
THIS DATE IN WEATHER HISTORY: ON JULY 28 1952...A STRONG
THUNDERSTORM WITH HEAVY RAIN AND LARGE HAIL...HIT THE COMMUNITIES OF
SAINT DAVID AND BENSON IN COCHISE COUNTY. HIGH WINDS DAMAGED CROPS...
BUILDINGS AND LIVESTOCK. HAIL AVERAGED ONE INCH IN DIAMETER...WITH
THE LARGEST STONES UP TO TWO INCHES. HAIL WAS REPORTED TO BE 3 TO 10
INCHES DEEP.
.TWC...SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNING FOR ZONE 31 (VAMORI WASH)
UNTIL 10 PM MST TONIGHT.Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 28, 12:04 PM MST, 6 hours 28 minutes before
AZZ019-029>035-291400- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 1130 PM MST MON JUL 28 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST ARIZONA .DAY ONE...TODAY SYNOPSIS...THE DESERTS ARE MOIST AND PRIME FOR STORMS TODAY IF ENOUGH SURFACE HEATING CAN OVERCOME SOME COOLING THEY HAD LAST NIGHT FROM STORMS. TUCSON AND WEST SEEMS THE LIKELY AREA FOR THE STRONGEST STORMS TODAY. THE EAST IS STILL RATHER DRY AND WILL BE INACTIVE DURING THE DAY ALTHOUGH MODELS HINT AT OVERNIGHT STORMS PUSHING OUT OF MEXICO INTO SOUTHEAST ARIZONA LATE TONIGHT. DISCUSSION...DRY AIR STILL IN EASTERN ZONES AND THAT SHOULD KEEP THAT AREA DOWN THIS AFTERNOON BUT MODELS SHOW A COMPLEX DEVELOPING IN NORTHERN MEXICO SOUTH OF DOUGLAS WILL PUSH INTO COCHISE COUNTY LATER TONIGHT AND SPREAD UP TOWARDS TUCSON OVERNIGHT. TUCSON AND WEST...MODELS SHOW BIG DAY WITH STORMS ON RIM MOVING WEST TO SOUTHWEST AND STORMS DEVELOPING IN TUCSON VALLEY AND MERGING WITH RIM STORMS THEN JUST RUNNING ACROSS THE LOW DESERTS. ONLY NEGATIVE FACTOR TO THIS SOLUTION IS THE REALLY COOLED PHOENIX SOUNDING. BUT THIS MAY NOT BE VERY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ENTIRE VALLEY OUT THERE AND MIXING DURING THE DAY MAY EVEN THE CAPE OUT SOME. SO SEVERE WISE EXPECTING AN UP DAY. AS FOR HEAVY RAIN...THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING TERRIFIC RAINFALL RATES LAST FEW DAYS...AND EVEN WITH FAST MOTION OF STORMS ITS EASY TO GET AN INCH OF RAIN. THEREFORE...BOTH THE CHANCE OF SEVERE STORMS AND ONE INCH RAIN IS HIGHER THAN CLIMATOLOGY TODAY FROM TUCSON WEST...SLIGHTLY BELOW CLIMATOLOGY EAST OF TUCSON ALTHOUGH THERE IS SOME CONCERN OF STORMS LATE TONIGHT PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN IN COCHISE COUNTY. MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS WILL BE TO THE WEST AT 15 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. SUFFICIENT MOISTURE WILL BE IN PLACE FOR A STANDARD SUMMERTIME THUNDERSTORM SEASON FORECAST. EXPECT SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jul 28, 6:09 PM MST, 23 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
0609 PM MST MON JUL 28 2003
TIME(MST) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0454 PM GREEN VALLEY AZ 0.75 IN HAIL
07/28/03 PIMA REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER
0455 PM WILLCOX AZ DUST STORM
07/28/03 COCHISE VISIBILITY NEAR ZERO.
REPORTED BY WILLCOX
POLICE
0515 PM 2 N WILLCOX AZ DUST STORM
07/28/03 COCHISE ZERO VISIBILITY. TWO
VEHICLE ACCIDENT.
0530 PM 2 N ARIVACA JUNCTION AZ WIND DAMAGE
07/28/03 PIMA VEHICLE PUSHED OFF
I-19 NEAR ARIVACA RD.
TIME ESTIMATED.
0550 PM 5 W WILLCOX AZ DUST STORM
07/28/03 COCHISE NEAR ZERO VISIBILITY ON
I-10 WEST OF WILLCOX.
0600 PM GREEN VALLEY AZ FLASH FLOOD
07/28/03 PIMA ELEPHANT HEAD ROAD
FLOODED. REPORTED BY
PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF.
ESPThe office that day
Everything else NWS Tucson, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 5:29 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 46 min |
| Jul 28, 5:31 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 44 min |
| Jul 28, 6:15 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima | 30 min |
| Jul 28, 7:47 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima, Santa Cruz | 73 min |
| Jul 29, 3:28 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima, Santa Cruz | 47 min |
| Jul 29, 3:54 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 51 min |
| Jul 29, 4:00 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima | |
| Jul 29, 4:35 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 55 min |
| Jul 29, 4:40 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 50 min |
| Jul 29, 4:55 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima | 5 min |
| Jul 29, 4:57 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima, Pinal | 63 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 2003Every severe thunderstorm 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.