Arizona, 2001

Damaging Wind in Arizona, July 25, 2001

July 25, 2001 · NWS PSR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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
1
Property damage
$30,000
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 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 Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 25, 9:40 PM MST, 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 25, 9:40 PM MST, 20 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-261045-

SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
940 PM MST WED JUL 25 2001

.SYNOPSIS...
AN UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER SOUTHERN NEVADA WILL MOVE SLOWLY
NORTHEAST TO SOUTHERN UTAH BY THURSDAY. AS THIS HAPPENS...ABUNDANT
MOISTURE CURRENTLY OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL AND EASTERN ARIZONA WILL
GRADUALLY BE PUSHED EASTWARD. AS THE LOW INTERACTS WITH THE
MOISTURE...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR OVER
PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA TONIGHT...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN
WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH THE UPCOMING WEEKEND...THE AREA MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE A
SHOWER OR STORM WILL BE THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA.

.DISCUSSION...
ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ON ALERT WHEN DRY AIR IMPINGES ON MOIST AIR AND
DYNAMICS ARE PRESENT...WHICH IS THE CASE OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AZ
TONIGHT. UNSTABLE AIR RESIDES OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AZ THIS EVENING
...WITH 850-700 MB THETA-E RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF AZ.
MOISTURE GRADIENT IS QUITE STEEP FROM SFC RIGHT ON UP TO AT LEAST
400 MB...PER PLOT DATA...SATELLITE DERIVED P-WATER IMAGES...AND WV
IMAGERY. SFC DEW POINTS QUITE HIGH IN PHX AREA...IN THE MID TO UPPER
60S...WHILE UPPER 40S DEW POINTS OBSERVED AT GILA BEND. IN THE SHORT
TERM...PERSISTENT LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE OCCURRING OVER PHX METRO
...WITH SFC WINDS FROM THE NORTHEAST OVER NORTHERN PORTION OF THE
METRO ...SOUTHEAST OVER SOUTHERN PORTION OF METRO THANKS TO OUTFLOW
FROM CONVECTION THAT AFFECTED SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY EARLIER THIS
EVENING...LIGHT NORTHWEST AT LUKE AFB...WEST-SOUTHWEST AT GILA
BEND...AND SOUTHERLY OVER NORTHWEST PINAL COUNTY. THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOPING ALONG A NNE-SSW ORIENTED BAND EXTENDING FROM THE SAND
TANK MOUNTAINS TO NEAR SUN LAKES ATTM...AND WITH INDIVIDUAL CELLS
MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS
POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY OVER NORTHWEST PINAL COUNTY AND CENTRAL
/EASTERN MARICOPA COUNTY...AT LEAST THROUGH MIDNIGHT.  ALL IN
ALL...LOOKS LIKE A RELATIVELY ACTIVE NIGHT WEATHERWISE...AT LEAST
IN THE PHOENIX AREA.

AM A BIT CONCERNED ABOUT IMPACT ONGOING CONVECTION JUST SOUTH OF
INTERNATIONAL BORDER MAY HAVE ON US THURSDAY...INCLUDING DEGREE OF
CLOUD COVER...MAX TEMPS...DEGREE OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...ETCETC.
WILL LET MIDSHIFT DO BATTLE WITH THIS! DG

The radar

The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 55 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Maricopa

When
July 25, 10:00 PM MST to 10:27 PM MST
Where
Maricopa County, Glendale
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$30,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
33.533, -112.183

Thunderstorm winds took down numerous power lines and as many as 12 power poles in and near Glendale. The hardest hit area was 91st Avenue and Glendale Road. A 42 year old man was struck by lightning as he stood in the doorway of his west Phoenix home. With his hand on the doorknob, lightning passed through his body and exited through his right foot.

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

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5257925.