Alert archive / Arizona / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 270, NWS Tucson, AZ
NWS Tucson, AZ issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 12, 2026, 2:45 PM MST for Santa Cruz County, Arizona. It was in force for 19 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 12, 2026, 2:45 PM MST (21:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 12, 2026, 3:04 PM MST
- In force
- 19 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tucson, AZ
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Hail
- 1.0 in
- Wind
- 60.0 mph
County Santa Cruz County, AZ
The radar
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 46 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:46 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, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 236 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 178 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -203 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1843 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 13 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 6 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 44 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Sep 12, 1:14 PM MST, 1 hour 31 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 12, 1:14 PM MST, 1 hour 31 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tucson AZ 114 PM MST Sat Sep 12 2026 .SYNOPSIS...A more typical isolated to scattered coverage of storms is forecast this weekend into next week. Daily high temperatures will fluctuate between near normal and a few degrees below normal. && .DISCUSSION...Scattered storms already ongoing and continue to fill into the Tucson Metro which is no surprise given the moisture profile in place today in conjunction with sufficient instability. We'll mainly be monitoring for heavy rainfall this afternoon as scattered storms with frequent lightning continue to evolve, but can't rule out strong gusty outflow winds. With very weak flow in the atmosphere, the storms that do form have the potential to dump an impactful amount of rain over the same spot resulting in water flowing in normally dry washes and low water crossings becoming inundated with swift moving water. HREF depicts a slight chance (10%) for rainfall totals exceeding 3 inches. If storms do gradually evolve into the Tucson Metro proper, we could see urban street flooding with ponding of water on roadways and in poor drainage areas. This weekend chances for isolated to scattered storms continues, again with the moisture we have in place the primary concern continues to lean toward heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding. Monday still looks to be a bit more active as a weak disturbance moves across southeast Arizona. Combined with the additional moisture we have in place, any lifting mechanism can help provide confidence in a heavy rainfall event. QPF continues to trend up with WPC placing portions of the forecast area under slight risk for excessive rainfall with the potential for stronger storms producing rainfall rates of 1-2"/hr leading to the increased risk of localized flash flooding. Time will tell as its difficult to time disturbances this far out. && .AVIATION...Valid thru 14/00Z. SCT SHRA/TSRA thru 13/04Z. SFC winds WLY/NWLY 6-10 kts thru 13/05 becoming terrain driven and less than 10 kts thereafter. Tomorrow, ISOLD-SCT SHRA/TSRA aft 13/17Z. SFC winds WLY/NWLY at 6-10 kts. Visibility 1-3 SM possible in TSRA. Aviation discussion not updated for TAF amendments. && .FIRE WEATHER...A typical isolated to scattered coverage of storms is forecast this weekend into next week. High temperatures will 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...None. && DVS Visit us on Facebook, X, YouTube...and at weather.gov/Tucson
In the hours before
Local storm report, Sep 12, 1:09 PM MST, 1 hour 36 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Tucson AZ
109 PM MST Sat Sep 12 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1255 PM Flash Flood 2 S Picture Rocks 32.31N 111.24W
09/12/2026 Pima AZ Fire Dept/Rescue
Swift water rescue on W Rudasill rd and N
Chaparral Rd.
&&
AJELocal storm report, Sep 12, 1:18 PM MST, 1 hour 27 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Tucson AZ
118 PM MST Sat Sep 12 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0107 PM Flash Flood 4 SSE Picture Rocks 32.29N 111.22W
09/12/2026 Pima AZ Fire Dept/Rescue
Swift water rescue on W Manville Rd and N
Sandario Rd.
&&
AJELocal storm report, Sep 12, 1:50 PM MST, 55 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Tucson AZ
150 PM MST Sat Sep 12 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0146 PM Flash Flood 15 SE Tucson 32.03N 110.72W
09/12/2026 Pima AZ Fire Dept/Rescue
Swift water rescue on Wentworth near I10.
&&
AJELocal storm report, Sep 12, 2:27 PM MST, 18 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Tucson AZ
227 PM MST Sat Sep 12 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0219 PM Flash Flood 15 SE Tucson 32.03N 110.72W
09/12/2026 Pima AZ Fire Dept/Rescue
Swift water rescue on E Colossal Cave Rd and
E Dawn Rd.
&&
AJEThe office that day
Everything else NWS Tucson, AZ issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 5:18 PM MST | Areal Flood Advisory | TWC | Cochise | 3 hr |
| Sep 11, 5:30 PM MST | Areal Flood Advisory | TWC | Pima | 2 hr |
| Sep 11, 6:24 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Cochise | 44 min |
| Sep 11, 6:31 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima | 3 hr |
| Sep 11, 7:01 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima | 119 min |
| Sep 11, 7:03 PM MST | Areal Flood Advisory | TWC | Pinal | 117 min |
| Sep 11, 7:07 PM MST | Areal Flood Advisory | TWC | Cochise | 3 hr |
| Sep 11, 8:41 PM MST | Areal Flood Advisory | TWC | Cochise, Graham | 3 hr |
| Sep 11, 9:20 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Cochise, Graham | 3 hr |
| Sep 12, 11:38 AM MST | Areal Flood Advisory | TWC | Pima, Pinal | 3 hr |
| Sep 12, 11:43 AM MST | Areal Flood Advisory | TWC | Cochise | 3 hr |
| Sep 12, 12:10 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima | 3 hr |
| Sep 12, 12:16 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Cochise, Pima, Santa Cruz | 20 min |
| Sep 12, 12:37 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 38 min |
| Sep 12, 12:44 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 46 min |
| Sep 12, 12:52 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima | 3 hr |
| Sep 12, 1:06 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima, Santa Cruz | 39 min |
| Sep 12, 1:18 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 29 min |
| Sep 12, 1:21 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima | 3 hr |
| Sep 12, 1:31 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima, Santa Cruz | 3 hr |
| Sep 12, 1:44 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Santa Cruz | 46 min |
| Sep 12, 1:50 PM MST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TWC | Pima | 40 min |
| Sep 12, 2:01 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Santa Cruz | 3 hr |
| Sep 12, 2:28 PM MST | Flash Flood Warning | TWC | Pima | 3 hr |
| Sep 12, 3:06 PM MST | Areal Flood Advisory | TWC | Pima | 3 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arizona, 2026Every severe thunderstorm 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.