Alert archive / Arizona / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Flagstaff, AZ

September 4, 2004Coconino County, Gila County, Navajo County, Arizona

NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued this tornado warning at Sep 4, 2004, 7:15 AM MST for Coconino County, Gila County, Navajo 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: Sep 4, 2004, 7:15 AM MST (14:15 UTC)
Expired: Sep 4, 2004, 7:45 AM MST
In force: 30 min
Issued by: NWS Flagstaff, AZ
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Coconino County, AZ, Gila County, AZ, Navajo County, AZ

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:15 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

Phoenix, AZ (KPSR), launched 12:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 137 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1274 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1264 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 71 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS55 KFGZ 041417
TORFGZ
AZC005-007-017-041445-
/X.NEW.KFGZ.TO.W.0001.040904T1415Z-040904T1445Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
715 AM MST SAT SEP 4 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FLAGSTAFF HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL GILA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA
  EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN COCONINO COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF FOREST LAKES
  SOUTHWESTERN NAVAJO COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ARIZONA

* UNTIL 745 AM MST

* AT 711 AM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 6 MILES NORTH OF
  YOUNG...OR ABOUT 13 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FOREST LAKES...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  FOREST LAKES BY 735 AM MST

THIS TORNADO WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR THIS STORM.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3421 11109 3407 11096 3430 11052 3448 11069

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 4, 6:53 AM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Gila	37 min
Sep 4, 9:00 AM MST	Flash Flood Warning	FGZ	Gila	30 min
Sep 4, 10:15 AM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Gila	45 min
Sep 4, 10:32 AM MST	Flash Flood Warning	FGZ	Gila	58 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Arizona, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes in 2004

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.