Hail and Damaging Wind in Arizona, July 5, 2001

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Arizona, July 5, 2001
Start: 2001-07-05T17:11
End: 2001-07-05T18:11
Location: Arizona

July 5, 2001 · NWS FGZ · 3 events in 1 county or zone

A thunderstorm moved across the Verde Valley with strong wind, hail and torrential rain. A wind gust of 60 MPH was reported 5 miles southeast of Cottonwood.

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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $150,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

A thunderstorm moved across the Verde Valley with strong wind, hail and torrential rain. A wind gust of 60 MPH was reported 5 miles southeast of Cottonwood. One inch hail was reported in Cottonwood. The sun porch at the historic Jerome Grand Hotel was blown off and moved 150 feet away. One and a half inches of rain fell in just 35 minutes in Cornville and over an inch fell in just 25 minutes in Cottonwood. The roof of the Sears building in Cottonwood collapsed due to the heavy rain and hail. Other buildings in the shopping center also sustained water damage. Two men were injured when part of the Sears roof fell on them as they were cleaning up the mess the next morning. The damage to the shopping center was estimated at $150,000.

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 Jul 5, 2:30 PM MST, 2 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 5, 2:30 PM MST, 2 hours 41 minutes before

NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
230 PM MST THU JUL 05 2001

SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL SHIFT EASTWARD OVER THE NEXT FEW
DAYS. AS A RESULT...A MOIST SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL DEVELOP OVER ARIZONA.
LOOK FOR DAILY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHERN ARIZONA TO
CONTINUE INTO NEXT WEEK.

DISCUSSION...UPPER RIDGE CENTERED OVER COLORADO THIS AFTERNOON. MODELS
IN GENERAL AGREEMENT IN MOVING THIS FEATURE EASTWARD OVER THE NEXT
TWO DAYS. FOR TONIGHT MID TO UPPER FLOW WILL REMAIN SOUTHEASTERLY WITH
THE MAIN THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY OVER THE WESTERN THIRD OF THE COUNTY
WARNING AREA (CWA) WHERE THE HIGHEST MOISTURE VALUES ARE LOCATED. THIS
INCLUDES THE WESTERN MOGOLLON RIM...YAVAPAI COUNTY...THE COCONINO
PLATEAU...GRAND CANYON COUNTRY AND THE KAIBAB PLATEAU. EXPECT AT
LEAST ISOLATED STORM ACTIVITY TO CONTINUE OVERNIGHT IN THIS AREA. THE
REMAINDER OF THE CWA WILL SEE JUST ISOLATED EVENING THUNDERSTORMS AS
DRIER AIR CONTINUES TO FEED IN FROM NEW MEXICO. ON FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY A WEAK TROUGH (CURRENTLY ALONG THE BAJA CALIFORNIA COAST)
WILL MOVE NORTHWARD ACROSS WESTERN ARIZONA AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
THE NET RESULT WILL BE A DEEPENING AND STRENGTHENING SOUTHERLY FLOW.
PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA ARE IN THE 1.50 TO
2.00 INCH RANGE TODAY AND  THIS MOISTURE WILL BE ADVECTED ACROSS
NORTHERN ARIZONA ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. AS A RESULT...COULD SEE THE
MOST SIGNIFICANT THREAT OF FLASH FLOOD PRODUCING THUNDERSTORMS THIS
SEASON. OTHERWISE...WITH MORE MOISTURE AND CLOUDS DAYTIME
TEMPERATURES WILL GRADUALLY LOWER WITH GENERALLY LIGHT WINDS.

IN THE EXTENDED...UPPER RIDGE REMAINS NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS AREA
WITH MOISTURE CONTINUING TO MOVE INTO NORTHERN ARIZONA FROM THE
SOUTH. AS A RESULT...A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED EACH DAY.

MCCOLLUM

.FGZ...NONE.

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:12 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Yavapai

When: July 5, 5:11 PM MST to 5:55 PM MST
Where: Yavapai County, Cottonwood
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 34.750, -112.017

Hail, Yavapai

When: July 5, 5:11 PM MST
Where: Yavapai County, Cottonwood
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 34.750, -112.017

Heavy Rain, Yavapai

When: July 5, 5:11 PM MST to 6:11 PM MST
Where: Yavapai County, Cornville
Measured: 1.5
Property damage: $150,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 34.600, -112.554 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

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: 5253678, 5253679, 5253680.