Alert archive / Arizona / Tornado Warnings in 2005

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Flagstaff, AZ

August 16, 2005Gila County, Navajo County, Arizona

NWS Flagstaff, AZ issued this tornado warning at Aug 16, 2005, 12:30 PM MST for 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: Aug 16, 2005, 12:30 PM MST (19:30 UTC)
Expired: Aug 16, 2005, 1:00 PM MST
In force: 30 min
Issued by: NWS Flagstaff, AZ
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Gila County, AZ, Navajo County, AZ

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 62 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:27 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, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 138 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: 70 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -199 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2236 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 4 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 15 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 
WFUS55 KFGZ 161930
TORFGZ
AZC007-017-162000-
/O.NEW.KFGZ.TO.W.0003.050816T1930Z-050816T2000Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
1230 PM MST TUE AUG 16 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FLAGSTAFF HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL GILA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA
  SOUTHWESTERN NAVAJO COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ARIZONA

* UNTIL 100 PM MST

* AT 1227 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO OVER NORTH
  CENTRAL GILA COUNTY...OR ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTH OF FOREST LAKES...
  MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  RURAL SOUTHWESTERN NAVAJO COUNTY AT 1240 PM MST
  RURAL NORTHERN GILA COUNTY AT 1240 PM MST

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 3415 11091 3400 11078 3417 11051 3432 11067

$$

2 follow-up statements

000 
WWUS55 KFGZ 161947
SVSFGZ

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
1246 PM MST TUE AUG 16 2005

AZC007-017-162000-
/O.CON.KFGZ.TO.W.0003.000000T0000Z-050816T2000Z/
NAVAJO AZ-GILA AZ-
1246 PM MST TUE AUG 16 2005

...A TORNADO WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 100 PM MST FOR NORTH CENTRAL
GILA AND SOUTHWESTERN NAVAJO COUNTIES...

AT 1244 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
INDICATE A TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED OVER SOUTHWESTERN 
NAVAJO COUNTY...OR ABOUT 11 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FOREST LAKES...MOVING 
NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  RURAL SOUTHWESTERN NAVAJO COUNTY AT 100 PM MST

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO
NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

LAT...LON 3415 11091 3400 11078 3417 11051 3432 11067

$$

000 
WWUS55 KFGZ 161958
SVSFGZ

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
1256 PM MST TUE AUG 16 2005

AZC007-017-162005-
/O.EXP.KFGZ.TO.W.0003.000000T0000Z-050816T2000Z/
NAVAJO AZ-GILA AZ-
1256 PM MST TUE AUG 16 2005

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTH CENTRAL GILA AND SOUTHWESTERN NAVAJO
COUNTIES EXPIRES AT 100 PM MST...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT THE STORM HAD 
WEAKENED AND WAS NO LONGER SEVERE. SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS WERE 
STILL POSSIBLE FROM THE THUNDERSTORM.

LAT...LON 3415 11091 3400 11078 3417 11051 3432 11067

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 16, 11:50 AM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino	25 min
Aug 16, 12:38 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino	23 min
Aug 16, 4:25 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGZ	Coconino	28 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Arizona, 2005 Every tornado warning in 2005 Tornadoes in 2005

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.