1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 20, 10:00 PM MST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-211045- SOUTHWEST ARIZONA/SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX ARIZONA 1000 PM MST SUN JUL 20 2003 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO DRIFT WEST ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA TONIGHT...THEN MOVE OVER SOUTHERN NEVADA MONDAY. THERE IS A CHANCE OF MAINLY EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE LOWER DESERT OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA TONIGHT...AND A BETTER CHANCE FOR STORMS OVER THE SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA MONDAY NIGHT. RATHER TYPICAL LATE JULY WEATHER IS EXPECTED THE REST OF THE WEEK...WITH AFTERNOON STORMS POSSIBLE OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND EVENING STORMS POSSIBLE OVER THE LOWER DESERT. TEMPERATURES WILL AVERAGE A FEW DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL THIS WEEK. .DISCUSSION... STRONG UPPER HIGH IN PLACE OVER THE WESTERN STATES CENTERED OVER UTAH GIVING A FAIRLY BRISK ELY STEERING FLOW ACROSS SRN AZ ATTM. SKIES WERE CLEAR OVER MOST OF THE CWA MOST OF THE EVENING...WITH CONVECTION SLOW TO START TO OUR EAST. HOWEVER...AN INVERTED TROF MOVING AROUND THE EAST SIDE OF THE HIGH IS NOW MOVING INTO FAR ECNTRL AZ...AND STRONG UVV AND DIFLUENCE CAN BE SEEN ON THE PLOTS AND PROGS MOVING INTO ERN AZ AND OUR ERN CWA. STRONG CONVECTION NOW FIRING OVER SERN AZ AND OVER THE ERN RIM...DOWN INTO SRN GILA...AND THE STEERING FLOW IS TAKING THESE STORMS INTO ERN MARICOPA COUNTY AT 1000 PM. ALTHOUGH DEWPOINTS OVER THE SCNTRL DESERTS ARE NOT OVERLY HIGH...IN THE LOW TO MID 50S MANY PLACES...STILL NEARLY 1.25 INCHES PWAT IN THE SOUNDINGS...AND THERE IS DECENT INSTABILITY AROUND PER THE 00Z RAOBS. STRONG WLY FLOW ACRSS THE CENTRAL DESERTS SEEN IN THE KIWA VAD WIND PROFILE...GIVING GOOD INFLOW INTO THE WRN FLANKS OF THE STORMS...AND THERE IS SOME SHEAR SEEN IN THE HODOGRAPHS TO AID STORM ORGANIZATION. AS THE VORT MAX CONTINUES TO ROTATE AROUND THE HIGH AND INTO OUR ERN CWA TONIGHT WEATHER WILL LIKELY BE ACTIVE...WITH SOME SEVERE STORMS LIKELY. TEMPS WARMED UP SEVERAL MORE DEGREES TODAY...TOPPING OUT AT 112 AT PHX...SO THERE IS PLENTY OF ENERGY IN THE LOWER AMS TO BE RELEASED WITH THE CONVECTION. UPDATED FORECASTS TO INCREASE CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND STORMS TONIGHT...AND ALSO INCREASED CLOUD COVER ACROSS OUR CWA...AS LOTS OF DEBRIS CLOUDS WILL BE OVERSPREADING OUR AREA OVER NIGHT. MONDAY ALSO LOOKS RATHER ACTIVE...AS MORE SHORT WAVES WILL BE COMING AROUND THE HIGH...AND THE UPPER FLOW WILL TURN MORE TO THE NE...A FAVORABLE DIRECTION TO BRING RIM STORMS INTO THE DESERTS. CURRENT FORECASTS ARE PRETTY GOOD...BUT CONVECTION MAY FORCE MORE SHORT TERM UPDATES. 11 .PSR...NONE.
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-210100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 600 AM MST SUN JUL 20 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AND AREAS OF DENSE BLOWING DUST WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE LOWER DESERT OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA TONIGHT. STRONGEST STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WIND...INTENSE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY UPPER LEVEL STEERING FLOW WILL BE FROM THE NORTHEAST...EAST...OR SOUTHEAST THIS WEEK AS STRONG HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT REMAINS OVER THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST. EXPECT STORMS TO DEVELOP OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN DURING THE AFTERNOON...THEN OVERSPREAD PORTIONS OF THE LOWER DESERT EACH EVENING. STRONGEST STORMS MAY PRODUCE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WIND AS WELL AS BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND INTENSE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. BLOWING DUST WILL OCCUR NEAR STORMS WHICH DEVELOP OVER THE LOWER DESERT.
The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:49 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck the chimney of a house in the 8900 block of East Pershing Avenue. The bolt knocked out the fireplace and the drywall of the living room, but caused no fire as the current discharged somewhere in the bottom of the fireplace.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, July 2003
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: 5376568.