Name: Drought in Arizona, May 1 to 31, 2002
Start: 2002-05-01T00:00
End: 2002-05-31T23:59
Location: Arizona

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 happened

The episode as NWS FGZ wrote it up.

The drought continued through May with no precipitation falling in Flagstaff. The normal precipitation for May is 0.80 inches. This was the first time in recorded history that there was no precipitation in May. Since January first, 1.22 inches of precipitation fell (12% of normal) which is 8.23 inches below the average of 9.45 inches. Since September 1st, 4.71 inches of precipitation fell (27% of normal) which is 12.46 inches below the normal of 17.19 inches. This is the driest September to May in recorded history.

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 Apr 30, 8:30 PM MST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 8:30 PM MST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
830 PM MST TUE APR 30 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN
TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. THIS WILL PRODUCE WINDY CONDITIONS AGAIN OVER
NORTHERN ARIZONA ON WEDNESDAY. COOLER TEMPERATURES ARE ALSO EXPECTED
BEHIND A COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM. SLIGHTLY WARMER
DAYTIME TEMPERATURES AND CALMER WINDS ARE EXPECTED FOR THE END OF
THE WEEK AND THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

.DISCUSSION...UPPER LOW OVER CA/NV BORDER IS MOVING SLOWLY EASTWARD
THIS EVENING AND IS EXPECTED TO CROSS THE GREAT BASIN TONIGHT AND
TOMORROW. LOW LEVEL GRADIENTS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN FAIRLY STRONG
ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN PORTION OF THE CWFA ON WEDNESDAY AND A WIND
ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS AREA. FARTHER NORTHWEST...THE
SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL HAVE PROGRESSED ACROSS THE WESTERN HALF OF
THE CWFA RESULTING IN A RELAXATION OF THE GRADIENT. WINDS IN THIS
AREA WILL BE BREEZY BUT REMAIN BELOW ADVISORY CRITERIA. THE FRONT
WILL ALSO LOWER AFTERNOON TEMPS 5 TO 10 DEGREES.

ZONES ALREADY UPDATED EARLIER TO REMOVE THE EXPIRED WIND ADVISORY.

.FGZ...WIND ADVISORY FOR TOMORROW FOR ZONES 12>14...10...11..
       16..17...39
       RED FLAG WARNING FOR TOMORROW FIRE ZONES 8>11...14>16...19...
       23...24

.CODED TEMPERATURES/POPS FOR SELECTED CITIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA

CITY             TEMPERATURES LO/HI           PROBABILITY OF PRECIP
                 TON WED   THU     FRI        TON WED   THU     FRI
FLAGSTAFF        034/055 026/056 028/062      000 000 000 000 000 000
WINSLOW          041/068 036/067 038/073      000 000 000 000 000 000
PRESCOTT         040/064 036/067 038/073      000 000 000 000 000 000
PAGE             050/067 047/069 049/075      000 000 000 000 000 000
WINDOW ROCK      035/061 030/058 032/064      000 000 000 000 000 000
CANYON DE CHELLY 045/065 040/062 042/068      000 000 000 000 000 000
COTTONWOOD       047/072 043/075 045/081      000 000 000 000 000 000
GRAND CANYON     036/059 028/060 030/066      000 000 000 000 000 000
GREER            033/055 025/056 027/062      000 000 000 000 000 000
HEBER            035/063 027/064 029/070      000 000 000 000 000 000
JACOB LAKE       034/050 026/051 028/057      000 000 000 000 000 000
NAVAJO N.M.      039/059 034/056 036/062      000 000 000 000 000 000
PAYSON           040/067 036/070 038/076      000 000 000 000 000 000
SEDONA           046/071 042/074 044/080      000 000 000 000 000 000
SELIGMAN         032/066 028/069 030/075      000 000 000 000 000 000
SHOW LOW         042/065 034/066 036/072      000 000 000 000 000 000
ST. JOHNS        038/066 033/065 035/071      000 000 000 000 000 000
WUPATKI N.M.     046/068 041/067 043/073      000 000 000 000 000 000

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: May 1, 12:00 AM MST to May 31, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Western Mogollon Rim forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, May 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: 5300006.