UCSON, Ariz. - We've had some very odd weather for Southern Arizona this week, including one confirmed tornado and two warnings.
Tornadoes are usually way off the weather menu for Southern Arizona.
But a tornado tore a path through Willcox on Tuesday, and conditions blew up near Marana Thursday that prompted the National Weather Service to issue a tornado warning.
Some people tend to believe when there's a tornado warning that means a tornado has formed and has touched down but the National Weather Service says it does not issue tornado warnings that way. It wants to warn you in advance so you have time to protect yourself.
Tornadoes come up with much less warning than other dangerous weather like hurricanes.
Ken Drozd specializes in warnings for the National Weather Service. He says modern radar gives forecasters a good look at what's going on inside a storm and if they see the rotation that's the mark of a tornado they will not wait until it's touched down and tearing things up to tell you to take cover.
He says, “You wouldn't want to issue a tornado warning two hours ahead of time because the storm may not even be formed yet. But as soon as you have the indication that there is a tornado that's possible. If that gives folks 10 minutes lead time. I mean that's a good amount of time to try to get somewhere to be safe.”
Drozd says his office only issued five tornado warnings for our area in the last nine years, until this week when it issued three.
When weather forms unusual patterns for Arizona that's a challenging time for forecasters like KGUN9's own Cuyler Diggs.
“And I'll have to say from someone who loves weather, Oh, this was an amazing week. It was so exciting and everything but it did really cause a lot of problems for a lot of folks who got too much rain in too short a period of time and then of course the damage in Willcox.”
But Cuyler says now local forecasters can remember the history of how unusual weather systems came together to create such odd weather and be ready if it happens again.
