Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2012

Flash Flood Warning 34, NWS Tucson, AZ

August 17, 2012Pima County, Pinal County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Aug 17, 2012, 2:05 PM MST for Pima County, Pinal County, Arizona. It was in force for 115 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 17, 2012, 2:05 PM MST (21:05 UTC)
Expired
Aug 17, 2012, 4:00 PM MST
In force
115 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

Counties Pima County, AZ, Pinal County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:05 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 (KDMA), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 47 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tuscon, AZ at 12:00Z on 2012-08-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 560 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tuscon, AZ at 12:00Z on 2012-08-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -2 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
560 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-41 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1232 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
47 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.

612 
WGUS55 KTWC 172105
FFWTWC
AZC019-021-180000-
/O.NEW.KTWC.FF.W.0034.120817T2105Z-120818T0000Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
205 PM MST FRI AUG 17 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TUCSON HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN PIMA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA...
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...TUCSON...ORO VALLEY...MARANA...
  CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA...

* UNTIL 500 PM MST

* AT 156 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
FLASH FLOODING FROM NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE CATALINA 
MOUNTAINS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF TUCSON NORTH AND WESTWARD INTO 
SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY. DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES ARE HIGHEST ACROSS 
MUCH OF SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY INTO FAR NORTHERN PIMA COUNTY WEST OF 
SILVER BELL WITH ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAINFALL AND SOME LOCALIZED 
HIGHER AMOUNTS. 

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO ORACLE AND
  AVRA VALLEY

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY
ROADS AND FARMLANDS ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS...STREAMS AND OTHER LOW
LYING AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLOODING.

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.

&&

LAT...LON 3233 11121 3225 11159 3240 11201 3278 11155
      3312 11095 3233 11049 3220 11102

$$

GL
1 follow-up statement
469 
WGUS75 KTWC 172300
FFSTWC

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
400 PM MST FRI AUG 17 2012

AZC019-021-172307-
/O.CAN.KTWC.FF.W.0034.000000T0000Z-120818T0000Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
PIMA AZ-PINAL AZ-
400 PM MST FRI AUG 17 2012

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR CENTRAL PINAL AND
NORTHEASTERN PIMA COUNTIES...

AT 357 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED 
SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS...AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...ACROSS 
CENTRAL PIMA AND NORTHEASTERN PIMA COUNTIES. LIGHT TO MODERATE 
RAINFALL HAD OCCURRED SINCE 3 PM MST. GIVEN THAT THE PROSPECT FOR 
HEAVY RAINFALL HAS ENDED...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN 
CANCELLED.

LAT...LON 3233 11121 3225 11159 3240 11201 3278 11155
      3312 11095 3233 11049 3220 11102

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 10:01 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCGraham119 min
Aug 17, 10:23 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCSanta Cruz3 hr
Aug 17, 10:28 AM MSTFlash Flood WatchTWCCochise, Graham, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz6 hr
Aug 17, 11:02 AM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima, Pinal118 min
Aug 17, 12:26 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCPima3 hr
Aug 17, 12:39 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima117 min
Aug 17, 1:00 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise2 hr
Aug 17, 1:20 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCPinal3 hr
Aug 17, 2:36 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCPima3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 2012Every flash flood warning 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.