5 thunderstorm wind, 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 9, 3:20 PM MST, 2 hours 16 minutes earlier.
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-100545- SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 320 PM MST TUE JUL 9 2002 .SYNOPSIS... STRONG HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ROCKIES IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP A DEEP EASTERLY FLOW ACROSS SOUTHWEST ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA THIS WEEK. THIS WILL IMPORT MOISTURE FROM THE EAST...PROVIDING A GOOD START TO THE SUMMER THUNDERSTORM SEASON. THIS INCREASE IN MOISTURE WILL LEAD TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA TONIGHT. IN ADDITION...A SERIES OF MINOR LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS WILL BE MOVING WESTWARD OVER NORTHERN MEXICO... INCREASING THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY THERE AND THUS FEEDING ADDITIONAL MOISTURE INTO THIS AREA. LOOK FOR INCREASING CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...WITH SOME BLOWING DUST ON THE LOWER DESERTS...AS THE WEEK PROGRESSES. .DISCUSSION... APPEARS THAT THE MONSOON IS ABOUT READY TO MAKE ITS OFFICIAL APPEARANCE...AS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE VALUES ARE UP SUBSTANTIALLY TODAY AND CONVECTION IS FIRING NICELY OVER ERN AZ...AND HEADED OUR WAY. A VERY STRONG HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE CONTINUES OVER THE WESTERN STATES WITH A 6000M HIGH CENTER NOW OVER SRN NV. THIS GIVING A RATHER STRONG DEEP ELY FLOW TO MOST OF THE STATE...WITH MEAN WINDS IN THE 0-6KM LAYER FROM THE EAST AT 20KT. THIS ELY FLOW ADVECTING IN QUITE A BIT OF MOISTURE...PWAT VALUES OVER SRN AZ NOW RUNNING OVER 1.5 INCHES OVER MUCH OF THE AREA...AS SEEN BOTH GOES PWAT IMAGERY AND THE TUS/PHX RAOBS. AT 3 PM SURFACE DEWPOINTS OVER MOST OF THE SCNTRL DESERTS WERE IN THE 50S. TEMPS AGAIN HAVE CLIMBED NICELY...AIDED IN PART BY THE UNREASONABLY HOT LOW TEMPERATURES SEEN ACROSS THE DESERTS THIS MORNING. SOME SPOTS REACHING TO AROUND 110 DEGREES AGAIN. PHX...BTW...TIED THE ALL TIME RECORD HIGH MINIMUM OF 93 DEGREES THIS MORNING. IN ANY CASE...SCT STORMS ARE FIRING OVER THE ERN MOUNTAINS AND ARE MOVING WEST...SHOULD MOVE INTO OUR ERN ZONES TONIGHT. CONVECTION IS AIDED BY A STRONG INVERTED TROF THAT WILL MOVE SWWD OUT OF NM AND INTO ECNTRL AZ OVERNIGHT...THEN ACROSS OUR DESERTS WED. THIS DISTURBANCE WILL LIKLEY CAUSE CONVECTION TO CONTINUE WELL PAST MIDNIGHT AND POSSIBLY INTO THE MORNING HOURS. THUS WILL CONTINUE TO FORECAST A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR MORNING SHOWERS OR STORMS OVER MOST OF THE AZ LOWER DESERTS. AS FOR WED AND BEYOND...BASIC FLOW PATTERN NOT FORECAST TO CHANGE MUCH THRU SAT...WITH THE STRONG UPPER HIGH REMAINING TO OUR NE...A MODERATE ELY FLOW ACROSS THE CWA...GIVING A CHANCE FOR AFTN/EVE STORMS TO DEVELOP AND MOVE OFF THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND OVER THE LOWER DESERTS EACH DAY. ONCE THE MOISTURE GETS IN PLACE...BY WED...IT WILL NOT REALLY LEAVE ANYTIME SOON SO THUS THE STANDARD MONSOON FORECAST WILL HOLD THRU THE WEEKEND. LATEST MRF/AVN CONTINUE TO SUGGEST THAT THERE WILL BE A GOOD SUBTROPICAL TAP DEVELOPING SUNDAY INTO MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK...WITH THE FLOW BECOMING MORE SELY AND ABLE TO TAP MOISTURE TO OUR SOUTH ASSOCIATED WITH SOME SORT OF TROPICAL DISTURBANCE/DEPRESSION. THUS THESE PROGS REALLY UP THE RH OVER OUR WESTERN ZONES SUN THRU TUE...AND LOWER TEMPS SOMEWHAT IN RESPONSE. WILL KEEP THE BROADBRUSHED FORECAST GOING FOR SAT THRU TUE...BUT MENTION A TEMP FALLOFF OF A FEW DEGREES AFTER SATURDAY. 11 .PSR...NONE.
AZZ022>024-027-028-100400-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
1245 PM MST TUE JUL 9 2002
...HAZARDOUS WEATHER POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA
FROM 3 PM TODAY UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT...
COUNTIES IN SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA IN THE RISK AREA INCLUDE...
MARICOPA...NORTHWEST PINAL AND SOUTHERN GILA.
THE PHOENIX METROPOLITAN AREA IS INCLUDED IN THE OUTLOOK...BUT
MAINLY AFTER 700 PM.
THE PRIMARY HAZARDOUS WEATHER RISKS INCLUDE: THUNDERSTORMS
WITH STRONG AND DAMAGING WINDS TO OVER 50 MPH ALONG
WITH BLOWING DUST ON THE DESERTS LOWERING VISIBILITIES TO
LESS THAN ONE-QUARTER MILE.
ADDITIONAL THREATS INCLUDE: BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL AND DEADLY
LIGHTNING.
STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY LATER TODAY.The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 18 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:37 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Gusty winds over 50 mph tore branches off trees in Gold Canyon and blew an awning off a home in Apache Junction. Winds gusted to 52 mph at nearby Williams Gateway Airport.
Dense blowing dust accompanied winds that gusted to about 60 mph. A small airplane was damaged while trying to land at Falcon Field. Thunderstorms developed over the East Valley, and microburst winds struck in Mesa, along University Drive between Extension and Country Club. About 20 power poles were blown down leaving 7,500 homes without power in this area .
Damage from strong winds extended over a large area of north central and northwest Pinal County. Trees were uprooted in Coolidge and homes were damaged in Florence. Winds were clocked at 55 mph on an automatic weather station 20 miles south of Queen Creek. A spotter reported two roofs ripped off maintenance buildings at the Sacaton Middle School, where winds were estimated as high as 80 mph. Another spotter driving along I-10 near Casa Grande reported freeway signs blown down as dense blowing dust hit the area. A power pole was also blown down across McCartney Road just south of Casa Grande. Eight mature trees were uprooted at the Central Arizona College with power and telephone outages lasting into Wednesday morning.
Several trees uprooted and blown across roads and streets in Ahwatukee. Patio roof damaged by winds.
A line of severe thunderstorms moved across southeast Pinal county. Damaging winds downed 2 power poles and ripped off small porches and awnings in a trailer park in the Eloy area.
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: 5303619, 5303620, 5303621, 5303622, 5303623.