Arizona, 2002

Hail and Damaging Wind in Arizona, August 28, 2002

August 28, 2002 · NWS PSR · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

2 hail, 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
0
Property damage
None recorded
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 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 Aug 28, 9:15 AM MST, 6 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 28, 9:15 AM MST, 6 hours before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-282245-

SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
915 AM MST WED AUG 28 2002

.SYNOPSIS...
LOW PRESSURE OVER NEVADA...AND HIGH PRESSURE OVER SONORA MEXICO HAS
CAUSED A SOUTHWEST WIND FLOW ALOFT...IN SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND
SOUTHWEST ARIZONA...WHERE DRY WEATHER AND PLENTY OF SUNSHINE WILL
PREVAIL FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.  A MOIST SOUTHERLY WIND IN SOUTH
CENTRAL ARIZONA WILL ALLOW A RETURN OF MONSOON MOISTURE INTO EAST
CENTRAL ARIZONA BY THURSDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE HOLIDAY
WEEKEND...MAKING FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING
THUNDERSTORMS...OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN FAR TO THE EAST OF PHOENIX.

.DISCUSSION...
MID LEVEL MOISTURE...ABV 15K FT...INCREASING OVER SOUTH CENTRAL AZ
AND THE PRECIPITABLE WATER TRENDING UPWARDS FROM .51 INCHES
YESTERDAY MORNING...TO .69 INCHES LAST EVENING...AND AS OF 12Z THE
PSR SOUNDING IS .89 INCHES.  THIS MORNINGS SFC DEW POINTS ARE UP 15
TO 25 DEGREES FROM 24 HOURS AGO...MAINLY IN THE 45 TO 55 DEG
RANGE...HIGHER IN SOME PLACES.  TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE MID
AND HIGH LVL CLDS...STILL THINKG THAT TODAYS AFTERNOON HIGH
TEMPERATURES IN SOUTH CENTRAL AZ WILL BE SUPPRESSED SOME...FROM
YESTERDAYS NEAR RECORD HIGHS. ELSEWHERE...SOUTHEAST CA IS ON THE NRN
SIDE OF JET STREAK...CLR.  WHILE SOUTHWEST AZ IS UNDER THE 70 KT JET
MAX...THIN CI WILL CONT THROUGH TNGT.

OVERALL PATTERN LOOKS SIMILAR IN THIS MORNINGS MODELS...SO FCST
GENLY RMNS THE SAME.  RUNYAN

.PSR...NONE.

The radar

The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 53 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:14 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Pinal

When
August 28, 3:15 PM MST
Where
Pinal County, Superior
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
33.283, -111.100

Hail, Maricopa

When
August 28, 5:08 PM MST
Where
Maricopa County, Mesa
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
33.417, -111.817

Thunderstorm Wind, Maricopa

When
August 28, 5:15 PM MST to 5:35 PM MST
Where
Maricopa County, Chandler
Measured
79 kt (91 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
33.300, -111.833

Microburst winds struck a large area in the East Valley, taking down power poles and uprooting trees.Homes, businesses and cars were damaged. Power lines fell on top of an SRP construction trailer and the resulting fire destroyed the trailer. Power lines were downed in Gilbert, trapping a few people at the Islands Elementary school.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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 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: 5312730, 5312647, 5312729.