Arizona, 2002

Flash Flood in Arizona, September 10 to 11, 2002

September 10 to 11, 2002 · NWS FGZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

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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 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 Sep 10, 9:55 AM MST, 6 hours 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 10, 9:55 AM MST, 6 hours 54 minutes before
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
955 AM MST TUE SEP 10 2002

.SYNOPSIS...TROPICAL MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO STREAM ACROSS ARIZONA
THROUGH WEDNESDAY. EXPECT NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO
CONTINUE TODAY AND TOMORROW...BEFORE DIMINISHING IN COVERAGE LATER
IN THE WEEK. SOME STORMS MAY CONTAIN VERY HEAVY RAIN TODAY. EXPECT A
DRYING TREND WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES BY THE WEEKEND. TEMPERATURES
WILL REMAIN BELOW NORMAL FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS...THEN RISE TO NORMAL
BY THE WEEKEND.

.DISCUSSION...WEAK UPPER LOW OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WILL BEGIN TO
SLOWLY EJECT N-NE TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. BEST FORCING
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOW WILL BE OVER WESTERN NEW MEXICO AND FAR
EASTERN ARIZONA. BEST INSTABILITY WITH THE LOW WILL BE OVER WESTERN
ARIZONA WHERE SKIES HAVE ALREADY STARTED THE DAY PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH
PW VALUES ARE SPREAD NEARLY UNIFORMLY ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA.
EXPECT STORMS THAT DEVELOP WINSLOW EAST WILL BE LONG-LIVED AND
EVENTUALLY WILL FORM A LARGE AREA OF RAIN CENTERED AROUND THE NEW
MEXICO BORDER. STORMS THAT FORM OVER YAVAPAI COUNTY MAY BECOME VERY
STRONG TODAY...AND MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN AS
THEY MOVE NORTHWARD. CONTINUED DYNAMICS FROM THE EJECTING LOW MAY
CAUSE ACTIVITY TO LAST WELL INTO THE NIGHT. WILL MONITOR CONDITIONS
FOR A POSSIBLE FFA LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. ALL OTHER PRODUCTS COVER
TRENDS WELL...AND WILL NOT UPDATE FOR NOW. PETERSON.

.FGZ...NONE

.CODED TEMPERATURES/POPS FOR SELECTED CITIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA

CITY             TEMPERATURES HI/LO           PROBABILITY OF PRECIP
                 TDY TON   WED     THU        TDY TON   WED   THU
FLAGSTAFF        067/047 068/045 066/041      050 070 050 040 040 030
WINSLOW          076/056 077/054 077/052      050 070 050 030 040 030
PRESCOTT         075/054 077/053 077/053      050 070 050 040 040 030
PAGE             079/060 078/060 076/058      040 060 040 030 030 020
WINDOW ROCK      070/048 069/046 070/043      050 070 060 040 040 030
CANYON DE CHELLY 076/055 075/053 076/050      050 070 060 040 040 030
COTTONWOOD       086/062 088/061 088/061      050 070 050 040 040 030
GRAND CANYON     068/048 069/046 067/042      050 070 050 040 040 030
GREER            064/046 065/044 063/040      050 070 060 040 040 030
HEBER            072/050 073/048 071/044      050 070 050 040 040 030
JACOB LAKE       064/047 065/045 063/041      050 070 050 040 040 030
NAVAJO N.M.      068/054 067/052 068/049      040 060 050 030 030 020
PAYSON           079/054 081/053 081/053      050 070 050 030 040 030
SEDONA           083/061 085/060 085/060      050 070 050 040 040 030
SELIGMAN         078/047 080/046 080/046      040 060 040 030 030 020
SHOW LOW         073/056 074/054 072/050      050 070 060 040 040 030
ST. JOHNS        072/052 073/050 073/048      050 070 050 030 040 030
WUPATKI N.M.     078/058 079/056 079/054      050 070 050 030 040 030

In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 10, 3:17 PM MST, 1 hour 32 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF ARIZONA
0317 PM MST TUE SEP 10 2002

TIME (MST) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0245 PM    COSNINO                   AZ   2 INCH HAIL
09/10/02   COCONINO                       REPORTED BY TRAINED SPOTTER

0250 PM    DONEY PARK                AZ   2 INCH HAIL
09/10/02   COCONINO                       REPORTED BY DONEY PARK FIRE DEPT

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 150 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:47 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Coconino

When
September 10, 4:49 PM MST to September 11, 4:15 AM MST
Where
Coconino County, Tuba City
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain caused street and house flooding in Tuba City. Extensive flooding was reported in 30 to 40 homes. Indian Route 618 and Blue Ridge Road had several washouts that stranded people. A funnel cloud was also reported in the area. Heavy rain continued into the early morning hours of September 11. Some paved roads washed out with deep gullies carved in some dirt roads. Earthen dams were close to failure and pumps were being used to decrease that danger.

What these are

Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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, September 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: 5320957.