Damaging Wind in Arizona, August 17, 2001

Name: Damaging Wind in Arizona, August 17, 2001
Start: 2001-08-17T18:30
End: 2001-08-17T19:20
Location: Arizona

August 17, 2001 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Damaging winds from a severe thunderstorm ripped a roof off of a home in the Sahuarita area. There were also 13 power poles downed by strong winds at Pima Mine Road and Old Nogales Highway.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $200,000
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.

Damaging winds from a severe thunderstorm ripped a roof off of a home in the Sahuarita area. There were also 13 power poles downed by strong winds at Pima Mine Road and Old Nogales Highway.

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 17, 2:10 PM MST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 17, 2:10 PM MST, 4 hours 20 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
210 PM MST FRI AUG 17 2001

.SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE OVER NORTHWEST ARIZONA WILL GRADUALLY
SHIFT INTO NEW MEXICO THROUGH SUNDAY. MEANWHILE...AN UPPER LEVEL
LOW PRESSURE AREA OVER BAJA WILL GRADUALLY MOVE WEST INTO THE
PACIFIC. ALTHOUGH STORM COVERAGE THROUGH SUNDAY WILL BE SOMEWHAT
LIMITED AND FAVOR THE EVENING HOURS...THEY COULD BE ON THE STRONG
SIDE. BY SUNDAY...THE PATTERN WILL FAVOR MORE TYPICAL AFTERNOON AND
EVENING THUNDERSTORMS...WHICH WILL CONTINUE INTO THE END OF THE
WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...TSTMS ALREADY FIRING IN THE WHITES AND SE COCHISE
COUNTY. ANVIL DRIFT CONTINUES TO SHOW DIFFLUENCE ALOFT, WITH THE
DIFFUENCE AXIS EXTENDING FROM NE SONORA INTO PINAL COUNTY. LAPS DATA
SHOWS CONVECTIVE INHIBITION PRETTY MUCH GONE OVER THE E AND
WEAKENING RAPIDLY IN THE W. THIS SUPPORTS THE 18Z ETA WHICH
COMPLETELY RELOADS OUR BOUNDARY LAYER BY 00Z. I DONT SEE ANY
DISTINCT FOCUSING MECHANISM OTHER THAN OUTFLOWS AND IMPRESSIVE UPPER
DIVERGENCE, SO WELL HOLD COVERAGE NEAR CLIMO (LOW-MID SCATTERED)
WHILE USING HEIGHTENED WORDING. SWODY1 OUTLOOK LOOKS VERY GOOD.
0-6KM SHEAR IS PROGGED TO BE AS HIGH AS 40KTS TONIGHT (IT WAS AROUND
30KTS ON THE 12Z SOUNDING) WHICH MEANS ANY STORMS THAT GET SOME
DEPTH WILL TRY TO ORGANIZE INTO SMALL LINES OR BOW SEGMENTS. AT
LEAST THAT WILL KEEP THE RISK OF HEAVY RAIN ON THE LOW SIDE. GOES-10
RAPID SCAN UPDATE WILL RUN FROM 22Z-07Z TONIGHT.

UPPER HIGH IS CONTINUING TO BRIDGE TO OUR N, AND ONCE THE PLAINS
TROUGH LIFTS OUT, IT WILL REFORM OVER THE 4-CORNERS. MODELS INSIST
ON RAMPING PRECIP WATERS ABOVE 1.5 BY SUN NIGHT AND TURNING OUR
30KT E FLOW AT 500MB TO 15KT SE. THAT WILL SHIFT US BACK INTO
GREATER COVERAGE/HEAVY RAINER MODE IN THE EXTENDED. FORECASTS HAVE
BEEN ADVERTISING THIS TREND ALL WEEK, AND I SEE LITTLE REASON TO
DEVIATE. ID GO A LITTLE HIGHER WITH POPS SUN, BUT MODELS SUGGEST
ANOTHER BIG NIGHT SAT NIGHT, AND WITH THE FLOW WEAKENING ON SUN, WE
MAY HAVE A HARDER TIME RELOADING THE DESERTS AND VALLEYS. WELL HAVE
TO WATCH THE DAY 6-7 AS MRF CONTINUES TO DROP A TROUGH DOWN THE WEST
COAST. THERES ISNT STRONG TELECONNECTIVE SUPPORT FOR SUCH AN
AMPLIFIED TROUGH, AND EVEN IF IT HAPPENS, WED PROBABLY TAKE A
COUPLE OF DAYS TO DRY DOWN. FOR NOW, IM INCLINED TO LET THE CURRENT
EXTENDED RIDE. PYTLAK

.TWC...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 17, 5:56 PM MST, 34 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
0556 PM MST FRI AUG 17 2001

TIME (MST) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0520 PM    ORO VALLEY                AZ   60 MPH TSTM GUST
08/17/01   PIMA

0532 PM    ORO VALLEY                AZ   WIND DAMAGE
08/17/01   PIMA                           POWER LINES DOWN

0534 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   63 MPH TSTM GUST
08/17/01   PIMA

0535 PM    ORO VALLEY                AZ   WIND DAMAGE
08/17/01   PIMA                           ROOF TILES BLOWN OFF HOME

0550 PM    TUCSON                    AZ   WIND DAMAGE
08/17/01   PIMA                           POWER POLES REPORTED DOWN

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Pima

When: August 17, 6:30 PM MST to 7:20 PM MST
Where: Pima County, Sahuarita
Property damage: $200,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.950, -110.950

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arizona in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5259994.