Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 52, NWS Tucson, AZ

July 28, 2003Pima County, Arizona

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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tuscon, AZ at 00:00Z on 2003-07-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 998 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tuscon, AZ at 00:00Z on 2003-07-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 2 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 11101

What 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.

ESP

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 28, 5:29 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima46 min
Jul 28, 5:31 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima44 min
Jul 28, 6:15 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima30 min
Jul 28, 7:47 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima, Santa Cruz73 min
Jul 29, 3:28 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima, Santa Cruz47 min
Jul 29, 3:54 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima51 min
Jul 29, 4:00 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima
Jul 29, 4:35 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima55 min
Jul 29, 4:40 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima50 min
Jul 29, 4:55 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima5 min
Jul 29, 4:57 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima, Pinal63 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.