Flood and Hail in Arizona, August 19, 2001

Name: Flood and Hail in Arizona, August 19, 2001
Start: 2001-08-19T15:10
End: 2001-08-19T15:10
Location: Arizona

August 19, 2001 · NWS FGZ · 2 events in 1 county or zone

One inch diameter hail was reported 10 miles north of Williams. Williams Police Department reported that the Grand Canyon Railways train was stopped 10 miles north of Williams due to flooding.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 FGZ wrote it up.

One inch diameter hail was reported 10 miles north of Williams. Williams Police Department reported that the Grand Canyon Railways train was stopped 10 miles north of Williams due to flooding. Highway 64 was closed in the same location due to flooding.

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 Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 19, 2:30 PM MST, 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 19, 2:30 PM MST, 40 minutes before

NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
230 PM MST SUN AUG 19 2001

.SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE CURRENTLY OVER NORTHEAST ARIZONA WILL
CONTINUE TO MOVE EASTWARD TONIGHT. AS A RESULT...SOUTHERLY FLOW
ALOFT WILL BRING AN INCREASE IN MONSOONAL MOISTURE TO THE STATE. AN
UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE EMBEDDED IN THE FLOW WILL RESULT IN AN
UPSWING IN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AND COOLER DAYTIME TEMPERATURES
TOMORROW. A WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING DRIER AND WARMER WEATHER
TO THE STATE BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...CONVECTION OFF TO A LATE START TODAY WITH COVERAGE
JUST BECOMING SCATTERED ATTM.  A COUPLE OF SYNOPTIC FEATURES
INDICATE AN UPSWING IN THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
HIGH PRESSURE OVER NORTHEAST AZ TODAY WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EASTWARD
TONIGHT. THIS WILL RESULT IN THE LOWER TROPOSPHERIC FLOW BECOMING
MORE SOUTHERLY WITH TIME AND AN INCREASE IN MOISTURE TRANSPORT
ACROSS AZ. THE OTHER FEATURE OF INTEREST IS A WEAK DISTURBANCE
EMBEDDED IN THE FLOW ALONG THE AZ/MEXICO BORDER. MESOETA HAS BEST
HANDLE ON THIS FEATURE AND MOVES IT NORTHWARD INTO SOUTH CENTRAL AZ
TONIGHT AND INTO NORTHERN AZ EARLY TOMORROW. FLOW BECOMES WESTERLY
LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY AS A TROF OF LOW PRESSURE MOVES INTO THE
WEST COAST AND BEGINS TO ADVECT DRIER AIR INTO THE STATE. ETA/AVN
SHOWS AN ATTENDANT 50 KT JET WITH THIS TROF WHICH CLIPS THE
NORTHWEST PART OF THE STATE ON TUESDAY. THIS FEATURE BEARS WATCHING
AS ENERGETICS INTERACT WITH RESIDUAL MOISTURE AND SHEAR PROFILE
BECOMES FAVORABLE FOR POSSIBLE SVR WX DAY ON TUESDAY. ETA/AVN THEN
SWEEP THE MOISTURE OUT OF ALL BUT FAR EASTERN AZ ON WEDNESDAY.

IN THE EXTENDED...DRY AIR REMAINS OVER THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH THE
PERIOD. PER CONSENSUS WITH NEARBY OFFICES DURING COORDINATION
CALL...WILL KEEP CHANCE SHOWERS ALONG THE EASTERN AZ/NM BORDER ZONES ON
WEDNESDAY...THEN DRY CONDITIONS/MOSTLY CLEAR FORECAST THROUGH
SUNDAY.  TW

.FGZ...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Coconino

When: August 19, 3:10 PM MST
Where: Coconino County, Williams
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.250, -112.183

Flood, Coconino

When: August 19, 3:10 PM MST
Where: Coconino County, Williams
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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

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: 5266969, 5266970.