Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 63, NWS Tucson, AZ
NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 31, 2003, 6:30 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
- Jul 31, 2003, 6:30 PM MST (01:30 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 31, 2003, 7:00 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), 91 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 90 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
- 472 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -38 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2099 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -23 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 119 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
829 WUUS55 KTWC 010130 SVRTWC AZC019-010200- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 629 PM MST THU JUL 31 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... EXTREME SOUTH CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY IN ARIZONA * UNTIL 700 PM MST * AT 617 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH HEAVY RAIN OVER SASABE...MOVING NORTH AT 5 TO 10 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... JUNCTION OF HIGHWAY 286 AND ARIVACA ROAD...ARIVACA AT 700 PM MST THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. MOVE TO A SHELTER... PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT AWAY FROM WINDOWS. LAT...LON 3151 11164 3139 11149 3157 11126 3172 11145
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 31, 2:23 PM MST, 4 hours 7 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 2:23 PM MST, 4 hours 7 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 223 PM MST THU JUL 31 2003 .SYNOPSIS...SOUTHEAST ARIZONA WAS CENTERED BETWEEN TWO SYSTEMS...AN UPPER RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE TO OUR NORTH AND AN UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OFF THE NORTHERN BAJA PENINSULA. A WEAK DISTURBANCE NEAR THE TIP OF THE BAJA PENINSULA WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH NORTH TOWARD SOUTHERN ARIZONA TONIGHT...RESULTING IN SCATTERED MAINLY EVENING THUNDERSTORMS. IN FACT...THE AIRMASS WILL REMAIN QUITE MOIST THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...RESULTING IN SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN SHIFT EASTWARD OVER NEW MEXICO AND INTO TEXAS BY SUNDAY ALLOWING A DRIER AIRMASS TO FILTER INTO THE REGION EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL LEAD TO A GRADUAL DECREASE IN THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA NEXT WEEK. .DISCUSSION...SYSTEM NEAR THE SOUTHERN TIP OF BAJA CONTINUES TO MAKE SLOW PROGRESS NORTH. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY AND LIGHTNING DATA SHOW SCATTERED CONVECTION WITHIN THE CONVERGENCE ZONE BETWEEN THE UPPER LOW WEST OF BAJA AND THE HIGH OVER NEW MEXICO. KEMX RADAR CURRENTLY DETECTING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER A GOOD PORTION OF MY COUNTY WARNING AREA WITH SOME OF THE STORMS POTENTIALLY POSING PROBLEMS WITH REGARD TO FLOODING. MANY ARE BACK BUILDING AND HOURLY RADAR ESTIMATES ARE INDICATING THAT A COUPLE OF THE STORMS ARE SHOWING ISOLATED AMOUNTS BETWEEN 2 TO 3 INCHES. ONE LARGE CELL OVER THE TOHONO OODHAM NATION IS DROPPING HEAVY RAIN WITH RADAR ESTIMATES INDICATING AROUND 2 INCHES PER HOUR. WITH THIS ADDITIONAL RAINFALL IT WILL ONLY EXACERBATE THE FLOODING PROBLEMS FROM PREVIOUS RAINS. THEREFORE EVEN THOUGH THE WASHES AFFECTED EARLIER IN THE WEEK WERE SHOWING SIGNS OF FALLING...THIS RAIN WILL LIKELY CAUSE RISES IN THE STREAMS ONCE AGAIN. FLOOD WARNING FOR THIS AREA WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 9 PM...BUT WILL LIKELY BE EXTENDED THROUGH FRIDAY. MODELS CONTINUE TO LIFT THE AFOREMENTIONED SYSTEM OVER SRN BAJA TO THE YUMA AREA OVERNIGHT AND INTO CALIFORNIA ON FRIDAY AS THE UPPER LOW WEST OF BAJA CONTINUES TO MOVE NORTHWEST. MEANWHILE THE HIGH OVER NEW MEXICO AND EXTENDING BACK TO THE GREAT BASIN WILL BUILD TO THE EAST AND SOUTH DURING THE WEEKEND...REACHING A POSITION GENERALLY CENTERED NEAR EL PASO BY SATURDAY. AS THIS OCCURS A WEAK TROUGH OUT AHEAD OF THE MAIN LOW IN THE PACIFIC WILL BE APPROACHING THE WEST COAST WITH SOME HINT OF DRYING. BY EARLY NEXT WEEK MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ARE ALL ADVERTISING SOUTHWEST FLOW AHEAD OF THE MAIN TROUGH WITH SIGNIFICANT DRYING ANTICIPATED...BUT THE GFS IS THE MOST ROBUST WITH THIS SOLUTION. HOWEVER...THE 00Z WAS NOT QUITE AS AGGRESSIVE WITH THE DRYING AS WAS THE PREVIOUS RUN. THEREFORE WILL KEEP THE TREND OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS IN THE ZONES/GRIDS THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH STORMS DEVELOPING MORE ALONG THE ARIZONA/NEW MEXICO BORDER BY THE WEEKEND. BY EARLY TO MID WEEK AS SOME AMOUNT OF DRYING IS EXPECTED I HAVE DECREASED POPS TO GENERALLY THE SLIGHT CHANCE CATEGORY. MOLLERE .TWC...FLOOD WARNING FOR CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY/ZONE 32 UNTIL 9 PM MST THIS EVENING.
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 31, 11:30 AM MST, 7 hours before
AZZ019-029>035-011400- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 1130 AM MST THU JUL 31 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST ARIZONA .DAY ONE...TODAY SYNOPSIS...A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE CONTINUES OVERHEAD CENTERED NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS AREA. THIS HAS ALLOWED A MOIST SOUTHEAST FLOW TO REMAIN ACROSS THE REGION. THE RESULT WILL BE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH THE BEST CHANCE RESIDING OVER GREENLEE...GRAHAM...PINAL AND COCHISE COUNTIES. DISCUSSION...SOUTHEAST FLOW ALOFT HAS ALLOWED THE PRECIPITABLE WATER TO REMAIN OVER 1 INCH ACROSS SOUTHERN ARIZONA TODAY AND WILL PRODUCE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. AT 11 AM TODAY CLOUDS COVERED MOST OF PIMA AND SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES WHICH WILL LIMIT THE CONVECTION...HOWEVER A MAINLY CLEAR SKY FOR COCHISE...GRAHAM... GREENLEE AND PINAL COUNTIES HAVE ALREADY ALLOWED TOWERING CU TO DEVELOP OVER THE MOUNTAINS. HELPING THE CHANCES OF WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS TODAY WILL BE UPWARD MOTION AT THE LOWER LEVELS COMBINED WITH DIVERGENCE AT 250 MB. ELSEWHERE...CLOUD COVER WILL DELAY THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT UNTIL LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR INTO THE EVENING. ONE OTHER CONSIDERATION IS A DISTURBANCE MOVING ALONG THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA. POSITIVE VORTICITY ADVECTION ALONG WITH ADDITIONAL MOISTURE MAY BE ENOUGH TO START SIGNIFICANT CONVECTION IN FAR WESTERN PIMA COUNTY DURING THE EARLY EVENING. SO EXPECT A SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCE THAN CLIMATOLOGY FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAIN OVER GRAHAM...GREENLEE...EASTERN PINAL...COCHISE AND FAR WESTERN PIMA COUNTIES. OTHERWISE...AT OR BELOW CLIMATOLOGY IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. SEASONAL SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH THE NORMAL IMPLIED THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. EVANS
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jul 31, 5:11 PM MST, 1 hour 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
0511 PM MST THU JUL 31 2003
TIME(MST) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0511 PM ELGIN AZ WIND DAMAGE
07/31/03 SANTA CRUZ TILES RIPPED OFF ROOF
PYTLAKThe office that day
Everything else NWS Tucson, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 6:50 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima | |
| Aug 1, 4:35 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima | 3 hr |
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.