A strong wind storm moved across northern Arizona on Tax Day. Trees were blown down on power lines in Fredonia, 3 trees blew down on Highway 89 east of Jacob Lake, numerous trees blew down on Forest Service Road 22, the Paria Point RAWS had a peak wind gust of 74 MPH and the Four Springs RAWS had a peak wind gust of 63 MPH.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS FGZ wrote it up.
A strong wind storm moved across northern Arizona on Tax Day. Trees were blown down on power lines in Fredonia, 3 trees blew down on Highway 89 east of Jacob Lake, numerous trees blew down on Forest Service Road 22, the Paria Point RAWS had a peak wind gust of 74 MPH and the Four Springs RAWS had a peak wind gust of 63 MPH. The Houserock RAWS had a peak wind gust of 71 MPH at 405 PM. The Tusayan RAWS had a peak wind gust of 59 MPH at 410 PM.
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 Apr 15, 2:30 PM MST, 1 hour 35 minutes earlier.
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
230 PM MST MON APR 15 2002
.SYNOPSIS...A STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA OVERNIGHT.
EXPECT STRONG WINDS TO LAST INTO THE EVENING HOURS NORTHWEST AND
CONTINUE IN THE EAST THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. A SLIGHT CHANCE
OF SHOWERS CAN BE EXPECTED ALONG THE UTAH BORDER TONIGHT AND THEN
ALONG THE NEW MEXICO BORDER TUESDAY MORNING. EXPECT THE COOLER
TEMPERATURES AND WINDY CONDITIONS TO CONTINUE FOR MUCH OF THE WORK
WEEK. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SHOWERS SATURDAY.
.DISCUSSION...A SURFACE FRONT AND UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL CROSS
ARIZONA TONIGHT...PRODUCING VERY WINDY CONDITIONS AND A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS NORTHWEST AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS
MAINLY FROM FLAGSTAFF NORTHWARD.
KFSX VAD WIND PROFILE SHOWING 50 KNOTS OF WIND AROUND 16K FEET AND
MODELS FORECAST A LOWER WIND MAX LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
MODELS STILL SHOWING 700 MB WIND MAX TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THIS
EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...JUST AHEAD OF THE 700 MB THETA E GRADIENT.
WE WILL CONTINUE WITH THE WIND WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES AND WILL
MOST LIKELY BEGIN DROPPING WESTERN ZONES FROM THE WARNING LATER THIS
EVENING.
LIFT AND MOISTURE WILL BE MARGINAL. THERE WAS A LIGHTING STRIKE
NORTH OF THE KAIBAB EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON. FAIRLY UNSTABLE AIR WITH
LAPSE RATES FROM 7.5 TO 8.5 BETWEEN 850 AND 500 MB WITH THIS
UNSTABLE AIR MAINLY SLIDING ALONG THE ARIZONA AND UTAH BORDER THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SO WE WILL KEEP MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS
CONFINED TO ZNS 4 5 6 EARLY THIS EVENING. TERRAIN INDUCED SINKING
MOISTURE WILL LIMIT AFFECTS OF ANY WEAK DYNAMICS...SO THINKING
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CONFINED MAINLY FROM FLAGSTAFF
NORTH AND THEN IN THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST IN THE MORNING.
TUESDAY WILL BE COOL AND BREEZY AS THE STORM EXITS TO THE EAST. THERE
WILL BE A FEW LINGERING AM SHOWERS ALONG THE NEW MEXICO BORDER AS
THE 700 MB FRONT WILL STILL BE IN EASTERN ARIZONA. 700
MB GRADIENTS INCREASE AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY...HOWEVER THE DEFINING
DISTINCTION BETWEEN THIS WIND EVENT AND THE ONE TODAY IS THE SURFACE
TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE FIELDS ARE NOT AS WELL DEFINED AND STRONG.
THINKING WINDY WORDING WILL COVER THIS EVENT WELL FOR NOW...LATE
TUESDAY NIGHT WE MAY NEED ANOTHER ADVISORY MAINLY FOR THE LCR ON
WEDNESDAY.
BREEZY AND DRY CONDITIONS CONTINUE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. EXTENDED
PORTION OF THE FORECAST HAS BEEN SHOWING SUCCESSIVELY DEEPER AND
SLOWER SOLUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPING WESTERN US LOW. FAVOR LATEST AVN
SOLUTION WHICH APPEARS TO BE A COMPROMISE BETWEEN THE MRF AND THE
ECMWF. NEVER THE LESS....A PORTIONS OF THE CLOSED LOW SWINGS ACROSS
NORTHERN ARIZONA SATURDAY...SO WE STILL CAN NOT RULE OUT THE
POSSIBILITY OF SHOWERS DURING THIS TIME PERIOD AS HIGHER RHS AND
STEEPER LAPSE RATES MAY TOUCH OFF SOME AFTERNOON SHOWERS ON
SATURDAY. SYSTEM MOVES EAST SUNDAY FOR DRY AND SLIGHTLY WARMER
CONDITIONS INTO MONDAY OF NEXT WEEK.
.FGZ...HIGH WIND WARNING THROUGH THIS EVENING AZ ZNS 004>008-012-015
HIGH WIND WARNING THROUGH TONIGHT AZ ZONES
009-010-011-013-014-016-017-039-040
WIND ADVISORY THROUGH THIS EVENING AZ ZONES 018-037-038
.CODED TEMPERATURES/POPS FOR SELECTED CITIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA
CITY TEMPERATURES LO/HI PROBABILITY OF PRECIP
TON TUE WED THU TON TUE WED THU
FLAGSTAFF 039/056 030/058 033/056 020 000 000 000 000 000
WINSLOW 049/068 039/071 040/068 000 000 000 000 000 000
PRESCOTT 045/067 040/067 038/066 000 000 000 000 000 000
PAGE 053/067 047/071 049/068 020 000 000 000 000 000
WINDOW ROCK 044/057 032/060 034/059 020 020 000 000 000 000
CANYON DE CHELLY 054/061 042/064 044/063 020 000 000 000 000 000
COTTONWOOD 052/075 047/075 045/074 000 000 000 000 000 000
GRAND CANYON 041/060 032/062 035/060 020 000 000 000 000 000
GREER 038/056 029/058 032/056 000 020 000 000 000 000
HEBER 042/064 031/066 034/064 000 020 000 000 000 000
JACOB LAKE 039/051 030/053 033/051 030 000 000 000 000 000
NAVAJO N.M. 050/055 038/058 038/057 020 000 000 000 000 000
PAYSON 050/070 040/070 038/069 000 020 000 000 000 000
SEDONA 051/074 046/074 044/073 020 000 000 000 000 000
SELIGMAN 037/069 032/069 030/068 020 000 000 000 000 000
SHOW LOW 047/066 038/068 041/066 000 020 000 000 000 000
ST. JOHNS 050/066 036/069 037/066 000 020 000 000 000 000
WUPATKI N.M. 054/068 044/071 045/068 000 000 000 000 000 000The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, April 2002
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: 5291358, 5291359, 5291357.