Flood, C Pima
- When
- July 28, 9:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:30 PM MST
- Where
- C Pima forecast zone
- Property damage
- $40,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
Flood in Arizona, July 28 to 31, 2003
During several days of heavy precipitation from thunderstorms in the evenings, water began to rise out of banks along the Vamori Wash on the 28th. Sells Wash also experienced rising water, as Highway 86 was flooded during the early morning of the 28th.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $40,000
- 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 TWC wrote it up.
During several days of heavy precipitation from thunderstorms in the evenings, water began to rise out of banks along the Vamori Wash on the 28th. Sells Wash also experienced rising water, as Highway 86 was flooded during the early morning of the 28th. Emergency Managers also reported culverts nearly full on Highway 21 and a bridge near Kom Vo by 145 pm MST. Also by 200 pm MST, there was water across Highway 21 along Vamori Wash. On the 29th, there was 18-24 inches of water running across Highway 21 with water overflowed its banks in all directions. The staff gage reported 9.6 feet of water in the Vamori Wash. Numerous areas of debris was on Highway 31 towards the village of Cowlic, with flows of 2 feet during the peak event. A dike west of Cowlic breached in one location with flow to the pond fed by the Vamori Wash.
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 Jul 28, 2:30 AM MST, 6 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 28, 2:30 AM MST, 6 hours 30 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 230 AM MST MON JUL 28 2003 .SYNOPSIS...PLENTY OF MOISTURE COMBINED WITH AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS TO SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THROUGH THE COMING WEEK AND INTO NEXT WEEKEND. .DISCUSSION...A PAIR OF WEAKNESSES IN THE FLOW...ONE THROUGH CENTRAL ARIZONA AND ANOTHER SOUTH OF THE BORDER HAVE SERVED AS A FOCUS TO CONVECTION OVERNIGHT...WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS PERSISTING NORTH AND WEST OF TUCSON. IMPRESSIVELY STRONG AND WET STORMS ASSOCIATED WITH SUPERCELLS AROUND THE NORTHERN PERIPHERY OF THE IMPULSE NEAR THE BORDER EARLIER IN THE EVENING. SOME DRYING AND PERHAPS WEAK SUBSIDENCE IN THE WAKE OF THESE FEATURES WITH GOES PRECIPITABLE WATER ESTIMATES DOWN TO NEAR 1 INCH OR A LITTLE LESS NEAR THE NEW MEXICO BORDER AND SURFACE DEWPTS DOWN INTO THE LOWER 50S. MAY SEE A LITTLE LESS WIDESPREAD ORGANIZATION TO STORMS TODAY...BUT THEY WILL STILL BE AROUND AND PLENTIFUL IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. EMPHASIS EAST OF TUCSON MAY BE SEVERE...WHILE FROM TUCSON WESTWARD MORE TOWARD HEAVY RAIN WITH A FLOW THAT MAY ENCOURAGE TRAINING. OTHERWISE...H7 THETA-E RIDGE HANGS IN SOMEWHERE IN THE VICINITY. PLENTY OF FUEL FOR SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. M .TWC...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 28, 7:00 AM MST, 2 hours before
AZZ019-029>035-291400- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 700 AM MST MON JUL 28 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST ARIZONA .DAY ONE...TODAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. HOWEVER...ANOTHER ROUND OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ACCOMPANY SOME STORMS AND STRONG WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE. FOR MORE DETAILS CHECK FOR AN UPDATE OF THIS OUTLOOK AROUND NOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. SEASONAL SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH THE NORMAL IMPLIED THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MEYER
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, July 28, 2003
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, July 28, 2003
- Lightning Strike in Florida, July 28, 2003
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, July 28, 2003
- Damaging Winds in Missouri, July 28, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, July 28, 2003
- Dust Storm in Arizona, July 28, 2003
- Lightning Strike in California, July 28, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, July 28, 2003
- Flash Flood and Hail in Colorado, July 28, 2003
- Tornado in Texas, July 28, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, July 28, 2003
More
Every storm in Arizona in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, July 2003
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: 5330429.