Alert archive / Arizona / Mesoscale Discussions in 2021

Mesoscale Discussion 1526

August 14, 202110 counties in Arizona

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Aug 14, 2021, 4:34 PM MST for 10 counties in Arizona. It was in force for 116 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 14, 2021, 4:34 PM MST (23:34 UTC)
Expired
Aug 14, 2021, 6:30 PM MST
In force
116 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Concerning
Severe potential...watch unlikely
Chance of a watch
5%

Counties Cochise County, AZ, Gila County, AZ, Graham County, AZ, Greenlee County, AZ, La Paz County, AZ, Maricopa County, AZ, Pima County, AZ, Pinal County, AZ, Santa Cruz County, AZ, Yuma County, AZ

The radar

The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 38 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:33 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, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 48 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, Phoenix, AZ at 12:00Z on 2021-08-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 102 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Phoenix, AZ at 12:00Z on 2021-08-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 19 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
102 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-277 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1127 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
19 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
161 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

924 
ACUS11 KWNS 142334
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 142334 
NMZ000-AZZ000-CAZ000-150130-

Mesoscale Discussion 1526
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0634 PM CDT Sat Aug 14 2021

Areas affected...Arizona

Concerning...Severe potential...Watch unlikely 

Valid 142334Z - 150130Z

Probability of Watch Issuance...5 percent

SUMMARY...Thunderstorms continue this afternoon across the southeast
quadrant of Arizona. Gusty thunderstorm outflows will be possible
with the strongest thunderstorms, but an overall widespread wind
threat is not anticipated. As such a watch is not expected this
afternoon and evening.

DISCUSSION...Showers and thunderstorms continue this afternoon
across the southeast quadrant of Arizona. These thunderstorms are
slowly moving west on the southern periphery of a strong anticyclone
across the Great Basin. Surface temperatures in the low 90s F and
dewpoints in the low 70s F have contributed to upwards of 3000 J/kg
of most-unstable CAPE across central Arizona. Despite this degree of
instability, low-level and mid-level lapse rates are significantly
weaker than in previous days (likely owing to convective overturning
from last night's convection) and not as conducive to downward
momentum transport. This should limit the overall severe wind
potential to localized areas, generally associated with storm-scale
processes. This, combined with high-resolution guidance suggestive
of waning thunderstorm intensity with the loss of diurnal heating
should preclude the need for a watch.

..Marsh/Goss.. 08/14/2021

...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov for graphic product...

ATTN...WFO...ABQ...EPZ...TWC...FGZ...PSR...VEF...

LAT...LON   32521486 34221452 34531332 34531068 34170940 33590900
            31990899 31240914 31251105 32451486 32521486

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 13, 6:55 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCochise, Gila, La Paz, Maricopa, Pima, Pinal and 3 more8 hr
Aug 13, 9:24 PM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGila, La Paz, Maricopa, Pinal, Yuma66 min
Aug 14, 12:51 AM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCYuma84 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Arizona, 2021Every mesoscale discussion in 2021

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.