Alert archive / Arizona / Flash Flood Warnings in 2026

Flash Flood Warning 202, NWS Tucson, AZ

September 13, 2026Cochise County, Arizona

NWS Tucson, AZ issued this flash flood warning at Sep 13, 2026, 6:57 PM MST for Cochise County, Arizona. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Sep 13, 2026, 6:57 PM MST (01:57 UTC)
Expired
Sep 13, 2026, 9:00 PM MST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Tucson, AZ
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County Cochise County, AZ

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 107 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:59 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this flash flood warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Santa Teresa, NM (KEPZ), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 283 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, Santa Teresa, NM at 00:00Z on 2026-09-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1531 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Santa Teresa, NM at 00:00Z on 2026-09-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -13 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
1531 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2517 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-13 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

988 
WGUS55 KTWC 140157
FFWTWC
AZC003-140400-
/O.NEW.KTWC.FF.W.0202.260914T0157Z-260914T0400Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service Tucson AZ
657 PM MST Sun Sep 13 2026

The National Weather Service in Tucson has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for...
  Southern Cochise County in southeastern Arizona...

* Until 900 PM MST.

* At 657 PM MST, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing
  heavy rain across the warned area. Between 0.7 and 1.3 inches of
  rain have fallen. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin
  shortly.

  HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms.

  SOURCE...Radar indicated.

  IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas,
           highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor
           drainage and low-lying areas.

* Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  Mainly rural areas of Southern Cochise County.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles.

Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads.

&&

LAT...LON 3147 10962 3147 10969 3138 10972 3136 10964
      3136 10959 3145 10961

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED

$$

GLZ
2 follow-up statements
444 
WGUS75 KTWC 140311
FFSTWC

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Tucson AZ
811 PM MST Sun Sep 13 2026

AZC003-140400-
/O.CON.KTWC.FF.W.0202.000000T0000Z-260914T0400Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Cochise AZ-
811 PM MST Sun Sep 13 2026

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM MST THIS EVENING
FOR SOUTHERN COCHISE COUNTY...

At 811 PM MST, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy
rain across the warned area. Between 1 and 2 inches of rain have
fallen. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.

HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas,
         highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor
         drainage and low-lying areas.

Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  Mainly rural areas of Southern Cochise County.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles.

Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads.

&&

LAT...LON 3147 10962 3147 10969 3138 10972 3136 10964
      3136 10959 3145 10961

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED

$$

GLZ
169 
WGUS75 KTWC 140357
FFSTWC

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Tucson AZ
857 PM MST Sun Sep 13 2026

AZC003-140407-
/O.EXP.KTWC.FF.W.0202.000000T0000Z-260914T0400Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Cochise AZ-
857 PM MST Sun Sep 13 2026

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 9 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR
SOUTHERN COCHISE COUNTY...

The heavy rain has ended. Flash flooding is no longer expected to
pose a threat. Please continue to heed remaining road closures.

&&

LAT...LON 3147 10962 3147 10969 3138 10972 3136 10964
      3136 10959 3145 10961

$$

GLZ

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning 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 flash flood warning went out at Sep 13, 12:33 PM MST, 6 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 13, 12:33 PM MST, 6 hours 24 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tucson AZ
1233 PM MST Sun Sep 13 2026

.SYNOPSIS...An active week ahead with daily chances of showers
and thunderstorms. Elevated precipitation chances Monday with a
Flash Flood Watch for portions of southeast Arizona. Daily
high temperatures will fluctuate between near normal and a few
degrees below normal.

&&

.DISCUSSION...The calendar shows mid September but still no
transition to drier non monsoonal weather for the upcoming work week
as deep layer southerly flow continues. Moisture levels remain quite
elevated today with PWAT values ranging from 1.3 to 1.7 inches
(lowest near the NM border and highest west of Tucson). These values
are about 150 to 200 percent of normal and with the southerly flow
remaining this week, the above normal moisture isn't going anywhere.
Now with the abundant moisture in place, we start looking for other
atmospheric signals for more active days. The sun angle in September
certainly isn't as good now compared to July or August so it's
really helpful to have other upper level support for better storm
chances. Not much upper level support for today, though isolated to
scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue through the
afternoon into early evening mainly from Sells eastward. Heavy rain
will be the main threat.

Monday is shaping up to be a more active day. While we can't rule
out a bit of morning convection, HREF/REFS/UofA WRF-HRRR are leaning
to a more active afternoon into evening as the combination of a
ample instability (MLCAPE 1000-2000+ J/KG) and some modest
mid/upper level support result in more widespread shower and
thunderstorm chances. Given the anomalously high moisture and broad
wetter antecedent conditions over the past few days it won't take as
much rain for to get notable responses in our washes and rivers. The
HREF has a large 50 to 90 percent area of 1 inch or greater of rain
(40-km neighborhood probability) from Tucson eastward with about 10
percent for 2 inches of more. Given the increasing confidence for
scattered to numerous thunderstorms Monday and heavy rain potential
along with previously mentioned wet antecedent conditions, decided
to hoist a Flash Flood Watch from late Monday morning through Monday
evening on a line from Sasabe-Eloy eastward but excluding the White
Mountains where the setup isn't as favorable up there.

Beyond Monday, it's looking like an active week. Tuesday will likely
be a bit more down compared to Monday, though still will have
isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms. Wednesday into
Thursday are looking like another up period with some enhancement of
a disturbance coming in from the south. Westerly flow aloft tries to
establish itself Friday into next weekend which should result in
decreasing precipitation chances especially from Tucson westward but
still plenty of time to sort out those details.

Temperatures this week will range from near normal to up to a few
degrees below normal.

&&

.AVIATION...Valid thru 15/00Z.
SCT-BKN clouds 8k-10k ft AGL with ISOLD-SCT SHRA/TSRA thru 14/04Z.
Can't rule out ISOLD SHRA/TSRA overnight into Monday morning but
confidence low. Scattered to locally numerous SHRA/TSRA expected to
develop aft 14/18Z and continue thru end of valid pd. SFC winds
SWLY/WLY 5-10 kts thru 14/04Z then terrain driven less than 10 kts
thru 13/16z. SLY/SWLY SFC winds 6-12 kts resume aft 13/16Z thru end
of valid pd. Aviation discussion not updated for TAF amendments.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...An active week ahead with daily chances of
showers and thunderstorms. High temperatures will fluctuate
between near normal and a few degrees below normal. Min RH
values mainly 20 to 45 percent in the valleys and 35 to 65
percent in the mountains over the next week. RH recoveries will
continue to be excellent overnight. Winds will generally remain
less than 15 mph and terrain driven. Gusty and erratic winds
will accompany thunderstorms.

&&

.TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Flood Watch from Monday morning through Monday evening for
AZZ503>509-511>514.

&&

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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 13, 5:52 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCCochise113 min
Sep 13, 6:27 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCSanta Cruz48 min
Sep 13, 6:29 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise46 min
Sep 13, 6:47 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCCochise10 min
Sep 13, 7:00 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCSanta Cruz2 hr
Sep 13, 7:11 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCCochise28 min
Sep 13, 7:16 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCSanta Cruz44 min
Sep 13, 7:39 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise2 hr
Sep 13, 7:49 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCCochise116 min
Sep 13, 9:33 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCCochise117 min
Sep 14, 1:46 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise32 min
Sep 14, 1:54 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise3 hr
Sep 14, 2:13 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCCochise3 hr
Sep 14, 2:22 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCCochise38 min
Sep 14, 2:24 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCCochise3 hr
Sep 14, 3:12 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCCochise2 hr
Sep 14, 4:00 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima45 min
Sep 14, 4:05 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima40 min
Sep 14, 4:07 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCPima113 min
Sep 14, 4:11 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima3 hr
Sep 14, 4:12 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCSanta Cruz48 min
Sep 14, 4:15 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTWCPima45 min
Sep 14, 4:22 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCSanta Cruz11 min
Sep 14, 4:26 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima3 hr
Sep 14, 4:33 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCSanta Cruz117 min
Sep 14, 4:34 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCPima5 hr
Sep 14, 4:38 PM MSTAreal Flood AdvisoryTWCPima3 hr
Sep 14, 4:46 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPima4 hr
Sep 14, 4:54 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCPinal3 hr
Sep 14, 4:59 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningTWCCochise25 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arizona, 2026Every flash flood warning in 2026

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.