Flash Flood, Pima
- When
- August 17, 5:15 PM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Pima County, 3 mi S of Tuscon Avra Vly Arpt
- Reported by
- NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
- Coordinates
- 32.097, -111.790 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flooding and Flood in Arizona, August 17, 1998
5 inches of rain in the Avra Valley area resulted in the closing of Sandario road just south of the Avra Valley Airport due to flooding. These same storms later caused flooding of Aravaipa creek in western Graham county with a spotter 14 miles northwest of Bonita reporting logs and a tree floating by in Aravaipa Creek.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
Thunderstorms dumping up to 2.5 inches of rain in the Avra Valley area resulted in the closing of Sandario road just south of the Avra Valley Airport due to flooding. These same storms later caused flooding of Aravaipa creek in western Graham county with a spotter 14 miles northwest of Bonita reporting logs and a tree floating by in Aravaipa Creek. These same storms also produced some street flooding in west Tucson.
The radar
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 112 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:12 UTC.
Event by event
2 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Pima
- When
- August 17, 6:00 PM MST to 6:30 PM MST
- Where
- Pima County, Tucson
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 32.097, -111.790 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Graham
- When
- August 17, 7:25 PM MST to 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Graham County, 14 mi NW of Bonita
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 32.933, -109.887 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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.
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 17, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 17, 1998
- Flash Flooding in New York, August 17, 1998
- Flooding in Pennsylvania, August 17, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, August 17, 1998
- Flooding in New Jersey, August 17, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Connecticut, August 17, 1998
- Flash Flooding in New Jersey, August 17, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, August 17, 1998
- Wildfire in Montana, August 17 to 18, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, August 17, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, August 17, 1998
More
Every storm in Arizona in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, August 1998
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: 5664512, 5664514, 5664513.