Arizona, 2001

Flash Flood in Arizona, August 14, 2001

August 14, 2001 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Thunderstorms developed over the Tucson mountains causing several washes to flood in northwest Tucson. At 1815 MST, a spotter reported that he had to pull his car over due to flooding on Camino del Cerro Road.

Where it happened

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  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
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  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$2,000
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.

Thunderstorms developed over the Tucson mountains causing several washes to flood in northwest Tucson. At 1815 MST, a spotter reported that he had to pull his car over due to flooding on Camino del Cerro Road. By 1820 MST, pima county dispatch reported a swift water rescue at the intersection of Sweetwater and Sliverbell roads. At 1845 MST, police closed Sliverbell Road between Ina and Camino del Cerro roads due to overflowing washes. They also closed Davis and Ruthrauff roads.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Aug 14, 2:30 PM MST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 14, 2:30 PM MST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
230 PM MST TUE AUG 14 2001

.SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST FROM
THE EASTERN PACIFIC LATER THIS WEEK. THIS WILL BRING A DECREASE IN
THUNDERSTORMS...PARTICULARLY WEST OF TUCSON. BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...
THE HIGH MOVES EAST OF ARIZONA AND THE FLOW BECOMES FAVORABLE FOR A
RETURN TO NORMAL THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY.

.DISCUSSION...LOTS OF DEBRIS CLOUD FROM YESTERDAYS COMPLEXES TO
FIGHT THROUGH...BUT AREAS FROM NEAR TUCSON WESTWARD HAVE SEEN DECENT
SUNSHINE. AS USUAL PLENTY OF MOISTURE AROUND. IMPULSE MOVING THROUGH
THE ROCKIES WITH SOME WEAKNESS STRETCHING INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
ARIZONA HELPING THINGS OUT A LITTLE THIS AFTERNOON. THIS AREA FILLS
A BIT AS IT SHIFTS INTO OUR AREA TOMORROW...BUT SHOULD STILL SERVE
AS SOMEWHAT OF A FOCUS. MAYBE EVEN A FOCUS FOR TONIGHT. WELL KEEP
CONVECTION GOING OVERNIGHT AS WE MAY START TO SEE A LITTLE MID LEVEL
COOLING HELP DESTABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE AND SOME WEAK LIFT AS THE
AFORE MENTIONED FEATURE BEGINS TO INFLUENCE SOUTHEAST ARIZONA.

AS LONG AS WE DONT GO CRAZY OVERNIGHT...FLOW / ENERGY SETTING UP
FOR A DECENT DAY ACROSS THE AREA TOMORROW. MATTER OF FACT...WEAK
SOUTHERLY FLOW TURNS TO NORTH / NORTHEASTERLY FLOW WITH INCREASING
INFLUENCE FROM WESTERN PORTION OF RIDGE. THIS USUALLY TRANSLATES TO
GOOD OUTFLOW OFF THE RIM. ANYTIME THIS MUCH MOISTURE IS AROUND FLASH
FLOODING AN ONGOING CONCERN.

BY THURSDAY THE NORTHERLY FLOW SHOULD START TO PUSH MOISTURE SOUTH
AND EAST...DRYING THINGS OUT A LITTLE...ESPECIALLY WEST OF TUCSON.
WITH THE (RELATIVE) DRYING TREND WELL SEE TEMPERATURES PICK UP A
FEW DEGREES IN THE AFTERNOON. SYNOPTIC FEATURES PICK BACK UP ON A
SOUTHERLY FLOW BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. M

.TWC...NONE.

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 112 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Pima

When
August 14, 6:00 PM MST to 7:30 PM MST
Where
Pima County, Tucson
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
32.097, -111.790 (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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, August 2001

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: 5259917.