Alert archive / Arizona / Special Weather Statements in 2012
Special Weather Statement, NWS Phoenix, AZ
NWS Phoenix, AZ issued this special weather statement at May 9, 2012, 4:07 PM MST for Pinal County, Arizona. It was in force for 53 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
- May 9, 2012, 4:07 PM MST (23:07 UTC)
- Expired
- May 9, 2012, 5:00 PM MST
- In force
- 53 min
- Issued by
- NWS Phoenix, AZ
County Pinal County, AZ
The radar
The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 38 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:10 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, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 130 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
- 156 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -387 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2533 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 15 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 10 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 42 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
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</html>What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this special weather statement went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this special weather statement went out at May 9, 3:15 PM MST, 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 9, 3:15 PM MST, 52 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 315 PM MST WED MAY 9 2012 .SYNOPSIS... LOW PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO SLIDE ALONG THE ARIZONA AND MEXICO BORDER TONIGHT WITH HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING BACK INTO THE REGION BY THE WEEKEND. SEASONALLY TYPICAL TEMPERATURES WILL INCREASE BY THE END OF THE WEEK...WITH WIDESPREAD 100 DEGREE READINGS EXPECTED IN THE LOW DESERTS BY THE WEEKEND. THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY MAY BE MORE EXTENSIVE TODAY...MAINLY EAST OF PHOENIX...AS MORE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IS PULLED INTO THE REGION FROM THE EAST. DRY WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... THE UPPER LEVEL LOW WHICH HAS RESULTED IN THE INCREASED MOISTURE ALONG WITH SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ACROSS SOUTHEAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA WILL CONTINUE ITS TRACK OVER NORTHERN MEXICO OVER THE NEXT 36 HOURS. THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN MAINLY OVER TUCSONS AREA AND THE HIGHER TERRAIN NORTH AND EAST OF PHOENIX. SOME CONVECTION OVER SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON WILL LIKELY BE SHORT LIVED AS IT HEADS INTO NORTHWEST PINAL AND NORTHEAST MARICOPA COUNTIES...HOWEVER OUTFLOW WINDS AND BLOWING DUST ARE LIKELY FROM THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE VALLEY THIS EVENING. LOOKING AT TUCSONS MORNING AND SPECIAL 18Z SOUNDINGS...THERE IS DEFINITELY AN INCREASE IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER MOISTURE WITH DEW POINTS IN THE UPPER 30S AND LOW TO MID 40S OVER MOST OF THE REGION. MODEL ANALYSIS CONTINUES TO SHOW DECENT MIXING RATIOS OVER SOUTHEAST ARIZONA WITH VALUES OVER 7G/KG AND ACROSS SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY WITH VALUES JUST OVER 5G/KG...WHICH HAS LED TO MLCAPES IN THE 500-1000 J/G RANGE. AS THE UPPER LOW EXITS TO THE SOUTHEAST AND DIURNAL HEATING CEASES...THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY SHOULD SLOWLY WANE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. PROGRESSIVE TROUGH THROUGH THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND SOUTHERN CANADIAN PROVINCES WILL HAVE PULLED THE CURRENT SOUTHWEST CONUS CUTOFF SYSTEM INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS BY FRIDAY. RATHER FLAT SHORTWAVE RIDGING WILL BUILD THROUGH THE REGION OVER THE WEEKEND WITH H5 HEIGHTS GENERALLY EITHER SIDE OF 582DM. OPERATIONAL MODELS MAINTAIN SOME SEMBLANCE OF A HEIGHT FIELD WEAKNESS AND TROUGHING OVER THE CNTRL ROCKIES THROUGH THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK...HOWEVER EFFECTS ON SENSIBLE WEATHER WITHIN THE FORECAST AREA APPEARS NEGLIGIBLE. 1000-850MB THICKNESSES INCREASE AND BECOME DIURNALLY STEADY AROUND 144DM (ALBEIT NOT QUITE AS HIGH VIA GFS FORECASTS) YIELDING TEMPERATURES IN A MUCH ABOVE AVERAGE RANGE. HAVE TRENDED HIGHS TOWARDS AND ABOVE THE WARMEST GUIDANCE MEMBERS BASED ON PAST TRENDS...WITH SEVERAL CONSECUTIVE DAYS ABOVE THE 100F THRESHOLD EXPECTED FOR LOW DESERT LOCATIONS. && .AVIATION... SOUTH CENTRAL AZ INCLUDING...KPHX...KIWA...AND KSDL... ...GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS AND AREAS OF BLOWING DUST NEAR KIWA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AND NEAR KPHX AND KSDL BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON... THROUGH 20Z WED...SCT CLDS AOA 20 THSD FT...EAST TO SOUTHEAST WIND 8 TO 14 KTS...FRM 20Z WED TO 03Z THU...SOUTHEAST WIND 8 TO 15 KTS...BKN CLDS NEAR 7-8 THSD AGL...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER THE MOUNTAINS EAST TO SOUTHEAST OF KSDL AND KIWA WITH A HIGH PROBABILITY OF STRONG THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS OR OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES SPREADING TO NEAR KIWA BY 20-21Z...KPHX BY 21-22Z...AND KSDL BY 22-23Z. THE BEST CHANCE FOR VISIBILITY RESTRICTIONS IN BLOWING DUST WILL BE AT KIWA AND KPHX. THUNDERSTORMS TO RAPIDLY DIMINISH AFTER 03Z AS SOLAR HEATING IS LOST...BEST DYNAMICS MOVE TO THE EAST...AND AIRMASS STABILIZES. SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...AND SOUTHWEST AZ...INCLUDING KIPL...KBLH... CIGS AOA 20 THSD FT AND TYPICAL DIURNAL WIND TRENDS THRU THE TAF FORECAST PERIOD. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDED TAFS. && .FIRE WEATHER... SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... STRONG HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT WILL KEEP SKIES CLEAR AND TEMPERATURES ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD. WIDESPREAD 100 TO 105 DEGREE READINGS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE LOWER DESERTS EACH AFTERNOON. GENERALLY LIGHT DIURNAL WINDS ARE EXPECTED. MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL FALL TO BETWEEN 5 AND 10 PERCENT EACH DAY. && .PSR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AZ...NONE. CA...NONE. && NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX IS ON THE INTERNET AT WEATHER.GOV/PHOENIX DISCUSSION...CDEWEY/MO AVIATION...PERCHA FIRE WEATHER...PERCHA
Hazardous weather outlook, May 9, 4:09 AM MST, 11 hours 58 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 409 AM MST WED MAY 9 2012 AZZ024-101200- SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY/TONTO NATIONAL FOREST FOOTHILLS- 409 AM MST WED MAY 9 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST-CENTRAL ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THERE IS A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING HIGH BASED AND DRY THUNDERSTORMS. THE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH AS WELL AS SOME BLOWING DUST IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. ALSO...THE STORMS CAN PRODUCE DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. STRONG WINDS ALONG WITH RELATIVELY LOW HUMIDITIES CAN PROMOTE HIGH FIRE DANGER AS WELL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED. AZZ022-023-027-028-101200- NORTHWEST MARICOPA COUNTY-GREATER PHOENIX AREA- SOUTHWEST MARICOPA COUNTY-NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY- 409 AM MST WED MAY 9 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THERE IS A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN EAST OF PHOENIX...AND A FEW STORMS MAY MOVE INTO THE EASTERN DESERT FRINGES DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON OR EVENING HOURS. ALTHOUGH THE CHANCE OF STORMS MOVING INTO THE LOWER DESERTS IS RATHER SLIM THERE IS A MUCH BETTER CHANCE THAT STRONG GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS SPREAD WESTWARD AND INTO THE SOUTH CENTRAL DESERTS...INCLUDING THE GREATER PHOENIX METROPOLITAN AREA. SOME OF THE STRONGER WIND GUSTS COULD EXCEED 45 MPH...AND PRODUCE DENSE BLOWING DUST WHICH WOULD MAKE FOR HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX IS ON THE INTERNET AT WEATHER.GOV/PHOENIX
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 9, 3:46 PM MST, 21 minutes before
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</html>Special weather statement, May 9, 4:07 PM MST, 0 minutes before
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</html>The office that day
Everything else NWS Phoenix, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 3:46 PM MST | Special Weather Statement | PSR | 44 min | |
| May 9, 4:08 PM MST | Special Weather Statement | PSR | Maricopa | 37 min |
| May 9, 4:20 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa, Pinal | 40 min |
| May 9, 4:24 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PSR | Maricopa, Pinal | 51 min |
| May 9, 4:36 PM MST | Dust Storm Warning | PSR | 2 hr | |
| May 9, 4:56 PM MST | Special Weather Statement | PSR | Maricopa | 49 min |
Nearby
Special Weather Statements in Arizona, 2012Every special weather statement in 2012
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.