Damaging Wind in Arizona, July 2, 2001

Name: Damaging Wind in Arizona, July 2, 2001
Start: 2001-07-02T18:28
End: 2001-07-02T18:40
Location: Arizona

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

Peak wind gust recorded at Tucson International airport. There was also roof damage reported by a spotter on south side of Tucson.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $10,000
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.

Peak wind gust recorded at Tucson International airport. There was also roof damage reported by a spotter on south side of Tucson.

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, 6:15 PM MST, 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 6:15 PM MST, 13 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION...MESOSCALE UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
615 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...HAVE UPDATED SEVERAL ZONES TO ACCOUNT FOR RAPID
INCREASE IN TSTM ACTIVITY. RECORD HEAT TODAY HAS MANAGED TO GIVE US
CAPES AROUND 500 J/KG ON THE 00Z KTUS SOUNDING, DESPITE A LINGERING
1-2C CAP AROUND 400MB. SLIGHT COOLING AT 500MB AND SLIGHT INCREASE
IN PRECIP WATERS IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE HIGH-BASED DEVELOPMENT.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE DOWNWARD AVAILABLE POTENTIAL ENERGY IS EXTREME,
EVEN FOR SE AZ. LFC IS JUST ABOVE THE 00C ISOTHERM, WHICH IS IDEAL
FOR DAMAGING MICROBURST WINDS. WELL-DEFINED OUTFLOW BOUNDARY IS
RACING SW TOWARD KTUS/KFHU FROM THE NORTHEAST AND COULD ENHANCE TSTM
DEVELOPMENT THROUGH 8 PM OR SO. THE PROBLEM WITH THIS SITUATION IS
THAT IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT TO CATCH THE MICROBURSTS WITH MUCH
LEAD TIME. SWOMCD SUMS THINGS UP NICELY. PYTLAK

.TWC...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 2, 5:54 PM MST, 34 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON ARIZONA
0554 PM MST MON JUL 2 2001

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

0446 PM    SAFFORD                   AZ   62 MPH TSTM GUST
07/02/01   GRAHAM

0504 PM    SAFFORD                   AZ   WIND DAMAGE
07/02/01   GRAHAM                         SIX INCH DIAMETER TREE LIMB BROKEN
                                          BY HIGH WINDS

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 123 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Pima

When: July 2, 6:28 PM MST to 6:40 PM MST
Where: Pima County, (Tus)tucson Intl Arpt
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 32.083, -111.917

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: 5258392.