Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2011

Flash Flood Warning 49, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 18, 2011Cochise County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 18, 2011, 4:39 PM MST for Cochise County, Arizona. It was in force for 81 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 18, 2011, 4:39 PM MST (23:39 UTC)
Expired: Aug 18, 2011, 6:00 PM MST
In force: 81 min
Issued by: NWS Tucson, AZ
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

County Cochise County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:39 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

Tuscon, AZ (KTUS), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 105 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: 1103 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -59 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1836 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 4 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 85 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.

818 
WGUS55 KTWC 182339
FFWTWC
AZC003-190100-
/O.NEW.KTWC.FF.W.0049.110818T2339Z-110819T0100Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
439 PM MST THU AUG 18 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL COCHISE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST ARIZONA...
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF WILLCOX...

* UNTIL 600 PM MST

* AT 437 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER CENTRAL COCHISE 
  COUNTY...SOUTH OF THE CITY OF WILLCOX. THIS STORM HAS SHOWN
  VERY LITTLE MOVEMENT.

* THE STORM PRODUCING FLASH FLOODING WILL ALSO AFFECT THE KANSAS
  SETTLEMENT AREA.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF WASHES
AND STREAMS...URBAN AREAS...HIGHWAYS...STREETS AND UNDERPASSES AS
WELL AS OTHER DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING SPOTS.

&&

LAT...LON 3226 10985 3227 10969 3204 10950 3196 10974
      3199 10993 3216 10992

$$
ZELL

2 follow-up statements

329 
WGUS75 KTWC 190011
FFSTWC

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
511 PM MST THU AUG 18 2011

AZC003-190100-
/O.CON.KTWC.FF.W.0049.000000T0000Z-110819T0100Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
COCHISE AZ-
511 PM MST THU AUG 18 2011

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 600 PM MST FOR
CENTRAL COCHISE COUNTY...

AT 507 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
INDICATE A THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING HEAVY RAINFALL IN CENTRAL COCHISE 
COUNTY...FROM THE WILLCOX AREA...SOUTH TO KANSAS SETTLEMENT. RADAR 
ESTIMATES THAT BETWEEN TWO INCHES AND TWO AND A HALF INCHES OF 
RAINFALL HAS FALLEN IN THIS AREA. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

MOST FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. NEVER DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO
AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. FLOOD WATERS ARE USUALLY
DEEPER THAN THEY APPEAR. JUST ONE FOOT OF FLOWING WATER IS POWERFUL
ENOUGH TO SWEEP VEHICLES OFF THE ROAD. WHEN ENCOUNTERING FLOODED
ROADS MAKE THE SMART CHOICE...TURN AROUND...DONT DROWN.

&&

LAT...LON 3226 10985 3227 10969 3204 10950 3196 10974
      3199 10993 3216 10992

$$
ZELL

071 
WGUS75 KTWC 190100
FFSTWC

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
600 PM MST THU AUG 18 2011

AZC003-190108-
/O.EXP.KTWC.FF.W.0049.000000T0000Z-110819T0100Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
COCHISE AZ-
600 PM MST THU AUG 18 2011

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 600 PM MST FOR CENTRAL
COCHISE COUNTY...

AT 558 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THAT ONLY 
LIGHT TO MODERATE SHOWERS REMAINED OVER THE WARNING AREA IN CENTRAL 
COCHISE COUNTY. THEREFORE...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED 
TO EXPIRE.   

LAT...LON 3226 10985 3227 10969 3204 10950 3196 10974
      3199 10993 3216 10992

$$
ZELL

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 17, 5:15 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	TWC	Cochise	90 min
Aug 17, 5:28 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Cochise	32 min
Aug 18, 11:27 AM MST	Areal Flood Advisory	TWC	Cochise	78 min
Aug 18, 12:34 PM MST	Special Weather Statement	TWC	Graham	41 min
Aug 18, 12:44 PM MST	Special Weather Statement	TWC	Pinal	46 min
Aug 18, 1:03 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pinal	42 min
Aug 18, 1:31 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Cochise, Pima	44 min
Aug 18, 1:34 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Santa Cruz	26 min
Aug 18, 2:03 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Santa Cruz	27 min
Aug 18, 2:14 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Cochise	46 min
Aug 18, 2:15 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Cochise, Graham	45 min
Aug 18, 2:21 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	39 min
Aug 18, 3:18 PM MST	Areal Flood Advisory	TWC	Pinal	3 hr
Aug 18, 3:19 PM MST	Areal Flood Advisory	TWC	Pima, Santa Cruz	116 min
Aug 18, 3:29 PM MST	Areal Flood Advisory	TWC	Pima	2 hr
Aug 18, 3:59 PM MST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TWC	Pima	46 min
Aug 18, 4:20 PM MST	Flash Flood Warning	TWC	Pima	85 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 2011 Every flash flood warning in 2011

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.