Alert archive / Arizona / Special Weather Statements in 2021

Special Weather Statement, NWS Tucson, AZ

July 29, 2021

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this special weather statement at Jul 29, 2021, 2:08 PM MST. It was in force for 37 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
Jul 29, 2021, 2:08 PM MST (21:08 UTC)
Expired
Jul 29, 2021, 2:45 PM MST
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ

The radar

The Yuma radar (KYUX), 158 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:07 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, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 179 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 2021-07-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 371 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 2021-07-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 11 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
371 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-231 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2650 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
4 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
5 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

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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 Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before this special weather statement went out at Jul 29, 9:38 AM MST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 29, 9:38 AM MST, 4 hours 30 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tucson AZ
938 AM MST Thu Jul 29 2021

.SYNOPSIS...Scattered to perhaps numerous storms are expected
today into the weekend. High temperatures will run near to a few
degrees below seasonal normals.

&&

.DISCUSSION...No updates necessary this morning as the current
forecast appeared to handle the trends well for today. Please refer
to the previous discussion for more details on the current and
projected weather.

&&

.AVIATION...Valid through 30/18Z.
Light shower activity this morning accompanied by CIGS between 10k-
15k feet. Widespread SHRA/TSRA is expected to develop this afternoon
with multiple rounds of activity possible through late tonight.
Storm impacts include strong erratic wind gusts in excess of 30
knots, heavy downpours, lowered vsbys, and CIGS dropping to 5k-9k
feet. Storms will decrease in coverage overnight. Aviation
discussion not updated for TAF amendments.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...More widespread storm activity is expected today
with development beginning early this afternoon and lasting into
tonight. Another active day is anticipated for Friday before a
downward trend in storm activity begins going into early next week.
Storms will likely produce erratic, gusty winds and locally heavy
downpours. RH values remain well above critical thresholds through
early next week. Temps will remain near to slightly below normal. 20-
foot winds will generally be less than 15 mph when not influenced by
thunderstorms.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION.../Issued 329 AM MST Thu Jul 29 2021/
Currently across southeastern Arizona a decaying MCV can be seen in
radar imagery over the western portion of Cochise County moving
west. This will continue to produce some light/moderate rain showers
or sprinkles through the morning as it moves into Santa Cruz and
southern Pima Counties. Another area of showers and a few embedded
thunderstorms are moving across extreme northern Graham and Greenlee
counties associated with a weak vort max, which is seen nicely in
water vapor. It also appears to be shearing and weakening, but could
certainly influence the weather for the northern half of the area
later this afternoon as it moves west. Some of the high res models
are hinting at this along with the HREF showing a focused area for
convection across the northern portions of the CWA. If some
organization can occur, strong gusty winds, heavy rain, and some
blowing dust may be possible as storms move off the higher terrain
and into portions of eastern Pinal County. A localized flash flood
threat will also be possible given how saturated the ground is.

Another area to watch will be outflows originating from northern
Sonora convection. Some of the high res models hint at this moving
southeast to northwest, likely generating thunderstorms along the
bndrys. Some of this activity may persist into the overnight hours
thanks to the easterly wave moving into the region. Heavy rain and
gusty winds would be the main threats with this activity. A
localized flash flood threat is also possible, especially with
saturated grounds in place. Any training or cell mergers will
enhance the threat.

By Friday, the easterly wave will continue to move across northern
Sonora. This will influence our weather with another round of
showers and thunderstorms. There is lesser confidence on storm
evolution depending on what happens later today. However, the
western half of the CWA from Tucson to Ajo should be favored.

The weakening easterly wave will begin to push north through Arizona
later Friday into Saturday with lessening activity by as early as
Sunday. There is decent agreement among the ensembles the high
pressure briefly shifts to SW AZ and SoCal, before gradually moving
back into the vicinity of the 4-Corners by late week. This return to
the 4-Corners would signal another possible uptick if activity.
Still plenty of time to watch how this evolves.

&&

.TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...None.

&&

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 29, 2:08 PM MST, 0 minutes before
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      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 28, 8:12 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCCochise63 min
Jul 29, 1:20 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima40 min
Jul 29, 1:55 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCPima2 hr
Jul 29, 2:06 PM MSTFlash Flood WatchTWCPima, Pinal39 hr
Jul 29, 2:42 PM MSTFlash Flood Warning Considerable damage threatTWCPima2 hr
Jul 29, 2:44 PM MSTSpecial Weather StatementTWCCochise61 min
Jul 29, 3:03 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCCochise117 min
Jul 29, 3:10 PM MSTSpecial Weather StatementTWCGraham35 min
Jul 29, 4:54 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCGraham2 hr
Jul 29, 4:54 PM MSTSpecial Weather StatementTWC36 min

Nearby

Special Weather Statements in Arizona, 2021Every special weather statement 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.