Arizona, 2002

Drought in Arizona, August 1 to 31, 2002

August 1 to 31, 2002 · NWS FGZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 drought, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 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 31, 8:55 PM MST, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 8:55 PM MST, 3 hours 5 minutes before
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
855 PM MST WED JUL 31 2002

.SYNOPSIS...THE CHANCE OF MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE MOST ACTIVITY
WILL BE FOUND OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF NORTHERN ARIZONA
AND ALONG THE NEW MEXICO BORDER.

.DISCUSSION...SFC OBS AND SAT IMAGERY THIS EVENING SHOWING MAINLY
HI LEVEL CLOUDINESS ACROSS THE CWA. 88D INDICATING SOME PRECIP JUST
SOUTH OF ZONE 18 AND THIS IS WEAKENING ATTM. LINGERING CLOUDINESS
EXPECTED TONIGHT BUT NOT PRECIP. NO BIG CHANGES SEEN. A WESTWARD
MOVING LOW OVER THE NORTHERN GULF OF CALIFORNIA WORKING IN TANDEM
WITH A HIGH CENTER OVER SOUTHERN UTAH IS BRINGING UP MOISTURE FROM
OLD MEXICO. MOISTURE INFLUX APPEARS TO BE SHALLOW AND JUST NOT ENOUGH
TO REALLY KICK OFF THE ACTIVITY IN A SIGNIFICANT WAY. SEE JUST
ISOLATED TO SCATTERED ACTIVITY NEXT FEW DAYS. MOST ACTIVITY WILL
CONTINUE TO BE CONFINED TO THE AREA OF DEEPEST MOISTURE...IN THE
VICINITY OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS AND ALONG THE NEW MEXICO BORDER.
CURRENT ZONES HANDLE THIS WELL...NO UPDATE. DF

.FGZ...NONE

.CODED TEMPERATURES/POPS FOR SELECTED CITIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA

CITY             TEMPERATURES LO/HI           PROBABILITY OF PRECIP
                 TON THU   FRI     SAT        TON THU   FRI     SAT
FLAGSTAFF        053/081 052/078 050/080      010 030 020 030 010 040
WINSLOW          065/093 065/089 063/091      000 030 010 030 010 040
PRESCOTT         063/089 063/086 060/088      010 030 010 030 010 040
PAGE             074/094 071/092 070/094      000 020 010 020 010 030
WINDOW ROCK      052/088 056/082 055/084      020 050 020 050 020 060
CANYON DE CHELLY 058/094 062/088 061/090      020 040 020 040 020 050
COTTONWOOD       071/100 071/097 068/099      010 020 010 020 010 030
GRAND CANYON     052/083 051/080 049/082      010 020 020 020 010 030
GREER            049/077 048/074 046/076      020 060 030 060 020 070
HEBER            054/086 053/083 051/085      020 050 030 050 020 060
JACOB LAKE       053/079 052/076 050/078      010 020 020 020 010 030
NAVAJO N.M.      056/088 060/082 059/084      020 040 020 040 020 050
PAYSON           064/094 064/091 061/093      010 010 010 030 010 040
SEDONA           069/098 069/095 066/097      010 020 010 020 010 030
SELIGMAN         056/092 056/089 053/091      010 020 010 020 010 030
SHOW LOW         061/087 060/084 058/086      010 040 020 040 010 050
ST. JOHNS        060/087 060/083 058/085      000 040 010 040 010 050
WUPATKI N.M.     068/095 068/091 066/093      000 030 010 030 010 050

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Western Mogollon Rim

When
August 1, 12:00 AM MST to August 31, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Western Mogollon Rim forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Flagstaff Airport had the second driest water year and the 10th driest August on record. Only 1.00 inch fell during August compared to the normal of 2.89 inches. The driest August was only 0.26 inches which fell in 1962. During the year starting September 1, 2001 and ending August 31, 2002, only 8.31 inches of precipitation fell. The driest year was from September 1, 1995 to August 31, 1996 when only 8.11 inches fell. Normal annual precipitation for Flagstaff is 22.91 inches. Snowfall during this time was only 38.9 inches which is the 10th lowest snow recorded in a year. The lowest snowfall recorded was only 11.2 inches which fell from September 1, 1933 to August 31,1934. Normal annual snowfall for Flagstaff is 109.4 inches. Mandatory water restrictions also continued in August which forbade washing of cars and driveways. Watering of lawns was only allowed from 5:00 AM to 8:00 AM, from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and only every other day. The water level in Lake Mary, a primary surface water source for Flagstaff, dropped below usable levels.

What these are

Drought
A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, August 2002

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: 5317857.