2 thunderstorm wind, 1 dust storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 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 Jul 23, 3:15 PM MST, 2 hours 12 minutes earlier.
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-240545- SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 315 PM MST TUE JUL 23 2002 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE OVER SOUTHERN UTAH THROUGH THURSDAY. THE CLOCKWISE FLOW OF AIR AROUND THE HIGH IS BRINGING AN INCREASE IN HUMIDITY FROM THE EAST. AS A RESULT...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD WEST OVER THE AREA THROUGH TONIGHT WITH A CHANCE OF MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING THROUGH THURSDAY. A PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE EAST AND BRING A DRYING TREND TO SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FRIDAY...WITH DRIER AIR SPREADING EAST TO SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS WEEKEND. .DISCUSSION... HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE OVER SOUTHERN UTAH THROUGH THURSDAY. EXPECT MORE HUMID AIR TO MOVE IN FROM THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST IN THE CLOCKWISE FLOW AROUND THE HIGH PRESSURE CENTER. ALSO...THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL LOW LEVEL MOISTURE FROM THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA IN THE NEXT DAY OR SO. THE AIRMASS IS UNSTABLE ENOUGH WITH THE MOISTURE INCREASE TO SUPPORT THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING FROM THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST INTO THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA TONIGHT...AND EVEN FURTHER WEST AND NORTHWEST. A HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WAS ISSUED FOR SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ARIZONA...INCLUDING THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA...FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. AS USUAL IT IS UNDER THE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT HEADER PHXSPSPSR...WMO HEADER WWUS85 KPSR. A PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST OVER THE WESTERN UNITED STATES BRINGING DRIER AIR OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FRIDAY...WITH DRIER AIR SPREADING EAST TO SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS WEEKEND...AND SOME CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURES. PSR...NONE ELLIS
AZZ020>028-CAZ031-240100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 1230 PM MST TUE JUL 23 2002 ...HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS POSSIBLE OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ARIZONA...AND THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY THROUGH TONIGHT... ARIZONA COUNTIES IN THE RISK AREA INCLUDE...MARICOPA...YUMA...LA PAZ ...NORTHWEST PINAL...AND SOUTHERN GILA. SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA COUNTIES IN THE RISK AREA INCLUDE FAR EASTERN RIVERSIDE AND FAR EASTERN IMPERIAL. THE PRIMARY HAZARDOUS WEATHER RISKS INCLUDE...THUNDERSTORMS WITH STRONG...GUSTY...POSSIBLY DAMAGING WINDS TO OVER 50 MPH...AND A SUDDEN DROP IN VISIBILITY IN THE DESERT AREAS DUE TO BLOWING DUST AND SAND. THE VISIBILITY COULD DROP TO LESS THAN QUARTER OF A MILE. ADDITIONAL THREATS INCLUDE...INTENSE CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING... LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WITH STREET FLOODING...FLOODING OF NORMALLY DRY WASHES...AND POSSIBLY HAIL. STORM MOVEMENT WILL BE TOWARD THE WEST AND NORTHWEST AT 15 TO 25 MPH. THE PHOENIX METROPOLITAN AREA IS INCLUDED IN THE OUTLOOK AREA...BUT ANY HAZARDOUS WEATHER WILL PROBABLY OCCUR AFTER 4 PM. STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT. ELLIS
The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 14 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:48 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Widespread dense blowing dust and sand cut the visibility to near zero over much of northwest Pinal County. Peak winds were 52 mph from an automatic weather station near Queen Creek.
Winds toppled about 10 power poles near Lindsay and Pecos roads.
At least 2 trees blown down in north Scottsdale. Heavy rain and lightning were blamed for the collapse of a section of a roof of the Goodwill store in south Scottsdale. One man inside the store suffered minor injuries. Trees and cactus blown down in Glendale.
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, July 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: 5303692, 5303693, 5303694.