Damaging Wind in Arizona, July 2, 2001

Name: Damaging Wind in Arizona, July 2, 2001
Start: 2001-07-02T16:46
End: 2001-07-02T16:50
Location: Arizona

July 2, 2001 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Peak wind gust recorded at Safford airport from outflow of a thunderstorm. A six inch diameter tree limb was broken by strong winds in the Safford area.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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.

Peak wind gust recorded at Safford airport from outflow of a thunderstorm. A six inch diameter tree limb was broken by strong winds in the Safford area.

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 Jul 2, 2:30 PM MST, 2 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 2:30 PM MST, 2 hours 16 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
230 PM MST MON JUL 2 2001

SYNOPSIS...THE SUMMER THUNDERSTORM SEASON WILL BE IN FULL SWING THIS
WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS ANCHORED ALONG THE UTAH BORDER. THIS
WILL SEND A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WESTWARD FROM THE
SOUTHERN PLAINS. THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS COULD BE
QUITE STRONG...WITH THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN ALSO INCREASING AS THE
WEEK PROGRESSES.

DISCUSSION...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING IN WESTERN
PIMA COUNTY IN THE BETTER MOISTURE FIELD...AND IN THE WHITES...BUT
SLOW TO DEVELOP ELSEWHERE. THIS PROBABLY DUE TO LESS MOISTURE FROM
TUS EAST. NM VORTICITY NO LONGER EVIDENT ON SATELLITE AND MOISTURE
ADVECTION SLOW...MORE LIKE MODELS ARE TRENDING. WILL LIKELY TONE
DOWN TSTMS FOR THE EVENING UNLESS GET SOME STRONGER INDICATION LATE
THIS AFTERNOON. MAIN FEATURE IS TX EASTERLY WAVE THAT ADVANCES CLOSER
TUES AND IN THE AREA WED. THIS WILL BRING MOISTURE WITH IT AND
PROVIDE BETTER UPPER DIVERGENCE AND OVERALL SHEAR PROFILE. LONGER
RANGE...UPPER HIGH FORCED A LITTLE EAST TOWARD THE PLAINS WHICH WILL
CONTINUE A GOOD MOISTURE FEED FOR DAILY THUNDERSTORMS.

.TWC...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 2, 11:45 AM MST, 5 hours 1 minute before

AZZ019-029>035-030700-

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
1145 AM MST MON JUL 2 2001

.SYNOPSIS...MOISTURE REMAINS IN PLACE ACROSS SOUTHEAST ARIZONA
AND AN EASTERLY FLOW HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED. A WEAK TROUGH IN NEW
MEXICO WILL MOVE ACROSS SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THIS EVENING WHICH WILL
DEVELOP THUNDERSTORMS. AN INCREASE IN AREAL COVERAGE AND INTENSITY
OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED.

.DISCUSSION...LOST A LITTLE MOISTURE TO THE SYSTEM THAT MOVED THROUGH
LAST NIGHT BUT THE MOISTURE WILL BE REPLENISHED LATER THIS AFTERNOON
BY THE NEXT TROUGH NOW MOVING THROUGH NEW MEXICO TOWARD SOUTHEAST
ARIZONA. WILL SEE SOME UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE AND WITH THE INCREASE
IN MOISTURE THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE MOUNTAINS THEN MOVE
INTO THE VALLEYS BY LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THERE COULD BE
ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING BUT THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE STRONG WINDS
GIVING A THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER.

STORM MOTION WILL BE TOWARDS THE WEST AT 5 TO 10 MPH.

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 142 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:44 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Graham

When: July 2, 4:46 PM MST to 4:50 PM MST
Where: Graham County, (E74)safford Arpt
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 32.850, -109.633

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, July 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: 5258391.