Flash Flood and Hail in Arizona, September 7, 2002

Name: Flash Flood and Hail in Arizona, September 7, 2002
Start: 2002-09-07T18:15
End: 2002-09-07T19:30
Location: Arizona

September 7, 2002 · NWS TWC · 2 events in 1 county or zone

A severe thunderstorm moved northeast over the town of Douglas producing hail and flash flooding. 5 inches of rain in 30 minutes.

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: 2

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 TWC wrote it up.

A severe thunderstorm moved northeast over the town of Douglas producing hail and flash flooding. A spotter reported 1 inch diameter hail size and 1.5 inches of rain in 30 minutes. Bisbee dispatch also reported widespread flooding in the town of Douglas.

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 Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 7, 2:20 PM MST, 3 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 7, 2:20 PM MST, 3 hours 55 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
220 PM MST SAT SEP 7 2002

.SYNOPSIS...THE FLOW AROUND A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM ALONG THE WEST
COAST AND ONE OVER SOUTH TEXAS WILL KEEP A STEADY STREAM OF MOISTURE
INTO THE AREA THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THIS WILL LEAD TO MORE SHOWER AND
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WITH THE THREAT OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. THE
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM ALONG THE WEST COAST WILL WEAKEN BY FRIDAY AS A
RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE REGION. AS A RESULT...LESS
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IN ADDITION TO WARMER DAYTIME TEMPERATURES CAN
BE ANTICIPATED TOWARD THE END OF THIS COMING WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...THE TAIL END OF A SHORT WAVE MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN
ARIZONA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA WAS HELPING TRIGGER THUNDERSTORMS THIS
AFTERNOON WEST OF TUCSON. THE AIRMASS OVER THE STATE REMAINED RATHER
MOIST AND AREAS SLIGHTLY WEST OF TUCSON HAVE RECEIVED JUST ENOUGH
INSOLATION SO FAR TO DESTABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE THERE. THE VERTICAL
SHEAR PROFILE OVER THE STATE WAS ALSO FAVORABLE FOR SUPPORTING WELL
ORGANIZED AND LONGER LIVED THUNDERSTORMS WITH SEVERE WEATHER
POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY FROM NORTH-CENTRAL THROUGH SOUTH-CENTRAL
ARIZONA. THUS...A SEVERE T-STORM WATCH HAS BEEN POSTED UNTIL 8 PM
MST FOR WESTERN PINAL...CENTRAL AND EASTERN PIMA COUNTIES IN OUR
CWA. WILL WATCH THE SITUATION CLOSELY IN CASE IT NEEDS TO BE
EXTENDED A LITTLE BIT FARTHER EAST. ELSEWHERE...LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL WILL BE A CONCERN AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. MODELS
DEEPEN THE TROUGH ALONG THE WEST COAST THROUGH SUNDAY WITH A FEW
DISTURBANCES PROGGED TO MOVE OVER THE STATE. THE UPPER LOW OVER
SOUTHERN TEXAS WILL HELP STALL THE PATTERN AS IT REMAINS NEARLY
STATIONARY THRU 72 HOURS. ANOTHER FEATURE THAT COULD AID IN
MOISTENING THE AIRMASS FURTHER WAS TROPICAL DEPRESSION ELEVEN-E
WHICH WAS LOCATED SOUTHWEST OF THE TIP OF BAJA THIS MORNING. LATEST
INDICATION IS THAT IT WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN...BUT REMNANTS OF IT
MAY LIFT NORTHWARD INTO ARIZONA BY MONDAY BASED ON THE AVN.
HOWEVER...ETA MODEL WAS NOT AS AGGRESSIVE WITH TRACKING IT NORTH.
WILL JUST NEED TO WATCH THIS FEATURE CLOSELY AS IT MIGHT HELP
ENHANCE OUR CHANCES OF HEAVY RAINFALL LATE SUNDAY EVENING AND NIGHT.
OTHERWISE...THE WEST COAST TROUGH IS FORECAST TO WEAKEN ALLOWING A
RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE TO BUILD OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST BY THE END
OF THIS COMING WEEK. THIS SHOULD RESULT IN A DRYING TREND ALONG WITH
WARMER DAYTIME HIGHS.

.TWC...SVR WATCH UNTIL 8 PM MST TONIGHT FOR ZONES 29...31 AND 32.

The radar

The Tucson radar (KEMX), 119 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:13 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Cochise

When: September 7, 6:15 PM MST to 6:20 PM MST
Where: Cochise County, Douglas
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.350, -109.550

Flash Flood, Cochise

When: September 7, 6:35 PM MST to 7:30 PM MST
Where: Cochise County, Douglas
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.880, -109.751 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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

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: 5316879, 5316880.