Flash Flood, Pima
- When
- September 3, 6:00 AM MST to 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- Pima County, Tucson
- Injuries
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Coordinates
- 32.097, -111.790 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Arizona, September 3, 1996
Between 0500 and 1000 am very heavy thunderstorm rainfall produced widespread flash flooding over the Tucson Metro area. 35-40 rescues were made of people stranded in flooded washes, and 250 storm related emergencies were reported to city and county Fire Departments.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 2
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS TWC wrote it up.
Between 0500 and 1000 am very heavy thunderstorm rainfall produced widespread flash flooding over the Tucson Metro area. 35-40 rescues were made of people stranded in flooded washes, and 250 storm related emergencies were reported to city and county Fire Departments. Numerous roads were closed, while some roads and water lines were washed out. One home near River Rd and Dodge Blvd was flooded with 6 inches of water and 2 inches of mud. As much as 5 inches of rain fell in a 2 1/2 hour period in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Virginia, September 3 to 14, 1996
- Flash Flood in Virginia, September 3 to 4, 1996
- Flooding in North Carolina, September 3 to 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, September 3 to 4, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Nebraska, September 3, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Arizona, September 3, 1996
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, September 3, 1996
- Hail in Kansas, September 3, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, September 3, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, September 3, 1996
- Hail in Oklahoma, September 3, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, September 3, 1996
More
Every storm in Arizona in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, September 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5573516.