Arizona, 2002

Damaging Wind in Arizona, July 12, 2002

July 12, 2002 · NWS VEF · 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
4
Property damage
$400,000
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 Las Vegas, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 12, 9:00 AM PST, 5 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 12, 9:00 AM PST, 5 hours 37 minutes before
MOJAVE DESERT/SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
1000 AM PDT FRI JUL 12 2002

.SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN
AND THE MOHAVE DESERT THROUGH THE WEEKEND.  HOWEVER MOISTURE MOVING
AROUND THE HIGH WILL PRODUCE PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES AND A CHANCE OF
AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS OVER MUCH OF THE AREA.
TEMPERATURES TO REMAIN NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL.

.DISCUSSION...THE MOST NOTABLE FEATURES THIS MORNING INCLUDE A WEAK
DISTURBANCE OVER SOUTHERN MOHAVE COUNTY AND THE FAIRLY IMPRESSIVE
MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY ON THE DESERT ROCK SOUNDING. A FEW SHORT
LIVED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN OBSERVED OVER SOUTHERN MOHAVE COUNTY
AND THE DISTURBANCE WAS MOVING INTO EASTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.
WILL NEED A QUICK UPDATE TO ADDRESS THIS. ALSO...THE 12Z DRA
SOUNDING SHOWS NO CAP ON CONVECTION AND CUMULUS ALREADY BUILDING
OVER THE SPRING MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHERN NEVADA COULD BUILD QUICKLY.
HOWEVER...THESE WILL BE PULSE TYPE STORMS THAT SHOULD BE SHORT LIVED
SINCE THE SHEAR PROFILE IS QUITE WEAK. STORM MOVEMENT WILL BE TO THE
NORTHWEST AND THEY WILL LIKELY DISSIPATE AS THEY MOVE OFF THE
MOUNTAINS. BOTH THE ETA AND AVN SHOW DRIER SOUTHWEST FLOW AT 850 MB
LOWERING DEWPOINTS BY THIS AFTERNOON AND THAT WAS REELECTED ON THE
SOUNDING. ALSO...MID LEVEL DRYING WILL OCCUR FROM THE EAST AS DRIER
AIR OVER UTAH AND NORTHERN ARIZONA WORKS ITS WAY INTO THE REGION.
NOT MUCH CHANGE UNTIL PROBABLY MONDAY AND TUESDAY WHEN A MORE
SOUTHERLY FLOW COULD BRING ADDITIONAL MOISTURE UP INTO THE AREA.

.LAS...NONE.

The radar

The Las Vegas radar (KESX), 94 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:37 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Mohave

When
July 12, 2:37 PM PST
Where
Mohave County, Kingman
Measured
67 kt (77 mph)
Injuries
4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$400,000
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
35.200, -114.050

Strong thunderstorm winds blew through Kingman destroying 16 homes and damaging 36. Most of the damaged and destroyed homes were mobile homes in the Kingman Shadows subdivision. Four people recieved minor injuries from flying debris. Several powerlines were also blown down knocking out power to an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people.

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 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, July 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: 5304858.