Hail and Damaging Wind in Arizona, September 10, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Arizona, September 10, 2002
Start: 2002-09-10T17:20
End: 2002-09-10T19:30
Location: Arizona

September 10, 2002 · NWS PSR · 5 events in 3 counties and zones

3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud, 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $15,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 10, 3:16 PM MST, 2 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 10, 3:16 PM MST, 2 hours 4 minutes before

AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-110545-

SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
315 PAM MST TUE SEP 10 2002

.SYNOPSIS...
A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING NORTHEAST FROM NORTHERN BAJA CALIFORNIA
COMBINED WITH A MOIST UNSTABLE AIRMASS MEANS SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THIS EVENING...SOME WITH HEAVY RAIN...HAIL AND
STRONG WIND. THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE MOVING
NORTHEAST AWAY FROM ARIZONA WEDNESDAY WITH GRADUALLY DRIER AIR MOVING
IN THE FROM THE WEST. EVEN DRIER AIR FROM THE NORTH IS EXPECTED TO
MOVE IN BY FRIDAY AND THIS WEEKEND. WARMER WEATHER IS FORECAST
THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WEST OF BAJA CALIFORNIA
EXPANDS NORTHEAST.

.DISCUSSION...
PLENTY OF MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR CONTINUES OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA
...SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA. TO GO ALONG WITH THIS...A
WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM FROM NORTHERN BAJA CALIFORNIA IS MOVING
NORTH-NORTHEAST. DYNAMICS WITH THIS SYSTEM COMBINED WITH A MOIST AND
UNSTABLE AIRMASS HAS RESULTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...SOUTHWEST AND
SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON WITH CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT
EXPECTED THIS EVENING. THERE IS PLENTY OF THERMODYNAMIC ENERGY
AVAILABLE WITH HEATING COMBINED WITH MOMENTUM ALOFT FOR MORE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THIS EVENING. THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL
CONTINUE MOVING NORTHEAST AND AWAY FROM ARIZONA WEDNESDAY WITH
GRADUALLY DRIER AIR MOVING IN FROM THE WEST. THIS WILL RESULT IN A
DECREASING CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE WEST
ESPECIALLY FOR THE DESERT AREAS. EVEN DRIER AIR FROM THE NORTH IS
EXPECTED TO MOVE IN BY FRIDAY AND THIS WEEKEND. WARMER WEATHER IS
FORECAST THROUGH THIS WEEKEND AS HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WEST OF BAJA
CALIFORNIA EXPANDS NORTHEAST. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO RISE
ABOVE THE AVERAGE FOR MID SEPTEMBER BY LATE THIS WEEK AND THIS
WEEKEND.

.PSR...NONE.

ELLIS

The radar

The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:22 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Pinal

When: September 10, 5:20 PM MST
Where: Pinal County, 6 mi W of Stanfield
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 32.867, -112.067

Thunderstorm Wind, Yuma

When: September 10, 5:20 PM MST
Where: Yuma County, Yuma
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 32.717, -114.617

Winds damaged a trailer in Yuma, and blew down a transmitter tower at radio station KAWC. Dense blowing dust also accompanied the storm with visibilities less than a quarter mile.

Funnel Cloud, Maricopa

When: September 10, 5:47 PM MST
Where: Maricopa County, 25 mi S of Phoenix
Reported by: AIRPLANE PILOT
Coordinates: 33.349, -112.491 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Private pilot sighted brief funnel cloud.

Hail, Maricopa

When: September 10, 6:39 PM MST
Where: Maricopa County, Laveen
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 33.367, -112.167

Hail, Pinal

When: September 10, 7:30 PM MST
Where: Pinal County, 6 mi W of Stanfield
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 32.867, -112.067

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
Funnel Cloud: A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arizona in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5319768, 5319771, 5319772, 5319769, 5319770.