Hail, Maricopa
- When
- August 18, 6:37 PM MST
- Where
- Maricopa County, Phoenix
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
- Coordinates
- 33.483, -112.067
35th Ave and Union Hills
Hail in Arizona, August 18, 2004
1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
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 Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 18, 3:40 PM MST, 2 hours 57 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 18, 3:40 PM MST, 2 hours 57 minutes before
AZZ020>028-CAZ030>033-190545- AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 340 PM MST WED AUG 18 2004 SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION .SYNOPSIS... A DISTURBANCE IN THE WESTERLY FLOW IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND A CHANCE OVER SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA. BY THURSDAY...DRIER AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION...CONFINING ANY CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE HIGHER TERRAIN EAST OF THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA. OTHERWISE...DRY WEATHER...MOSTLY CLEAR NIGHTS AND SUNNY DAYS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE COMING WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK AS AN UNUSUALLY STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM FROM THE GULF OF ALASKA DEVELOPS NEAR THE WEST COAST SENDING DRY AIR AND INCREASING WINDS FROM THE SOUTHWEST OVER OUR AREA. && .DISCUSSION... TRICKY FORECAST THIS AFTERNOON. A DAY THAT LOOKED LIKE A DOWN DAY IS NOW STARTING TO LOOK OTHERWISE. 18Z PSR RAOB TODAY SHOWED MOISTENING IN THE LOW LEVELS (HMMMM???) AND A MODIFIED SOUNDING WITH A MIXING RATIO OF 9.5-10 G/KG AND WITH AN AFTERNOON HIGH OF 102...WE GET AN UNBELIEVABLE AMOUNT OF CAPE...LIKE 1300+ J/KG WOW SURFACE TDS ARE DOWN...CURRENTLY 53 AT SKY HARBOR AS OF 3PM...WHICH IS IN LINE WITH OUR THINKING FROM THIS MORNING. AND...WE STILL HAVE A PRETTY DECENT WESTERLY FLOW IN THE MID LEVELS...LIKE 20-30KT (WESTERLIES=NOT FAVORABLE FOR VALLEY STORMS THIS TIME OF YEAR). HOWEVER...A FEATURE IN THE WATER VAPOR THIS LATE MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON HAS GOT OUR ATTENTION. THERE IS A SHORTWAVE IN THE WESTERLIES THAT HAS ROTATED THROUGH LAS VEGAS AREA...AND IS NOW ENTERING NWRN AZ. IT APPEARS THAT DIRECTLY AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE STORMS ARE DEVELOPING. THIS FEATURE IS ACTUALLY SEEN ON THE GFS UPPER LEVEL STREAMLINE ANALYSIS...AND THE GFS ROTATES THE SHORTWAVE THROUGH THE CENTRAL PART OF ARIZONA IN AN EASTERLY TRAJECTORY LATE THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING. SO...ALTHOUGH ITS NOT YOUR TYPICAL LOOKING MONSOON PATTERN...IT LOOKS LIKE CHANCE POPS FOR THE SOUTH-CENTRAL DESERTS (SLIGHT POPS FURTHER WEST) IS A GOOD IDEA FOR TONIGHT. BEYOND THIS EVENING...A DRYING TREND (WHICH IS UNDERWAY ALREADY) WILL CONTINUE. SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA WILL BE UNDER A DRY WESTERLY FLOW FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS...WITH ENOUGH MOISTURE LINGERING OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN WELL EAST OF PHX FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF TERRAIN INFLUENCED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY. MEANWHILE...AN UNSEASONABLY STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA IS PROGED TO DEVELOP AND MOVE SOUTHWARD. THIS LOW SHOULD POSITION ITSELF JUST OFF THE CA CST LATE IN THE WEEKEND...AND BY THE EARLY PART OF THE WEEK...THE MED RANGE MODELS MOVE THIS TROF THROUGH THE WESTERN CONUS FOR SOME COOLING AND MORE SIGNIFICANTLY... INCREASING WINDS. OVERALL...NOT MUCH CHANGE TO THE EXTENDED FORECAST WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MINOR TWEAKS TO TEMPS...AND INCREASING THE WINDS EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .PSR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AZ...NONE. CA...NONE. && 22
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 18, 10:21 AM MST, 8 hours 16 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...COR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 1021 AM MST WED AUG 18 2004 COR FOR EXPIRATION TIME AZZ024-190700- SOUTHERN GILA/TONTO NF FOOTHILLS- 1021 AM MST WED AUG 18 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY AND THE TONTO NATIONAL FOREST FOOTHILLS. .DAY ONE...TODAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH STRONG GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH STRONG GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. AZZ022-023-027-028-190700- GREATER PHOENIX AREA-NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY- NORTHWEST MARICOPA COUNTY-SOUTHWEST MARICOPA COUNTY- 1021 AM MST WED AUG 18 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MARICOPA COUNTY INCLUDING THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA AND FOR NORTH CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY. .DAY ONE...TODAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH DAMAGING WIND...SMALL HAIL...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. AZZ020-021-025-026-CAZ030>033-190700- IMPERIAL COUNTY-JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK- LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY AZ-LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY CA- RIVERSIDE COUNTY/EASTERN DESERTS-SOUTHWEST DESERTS- WEST CENTRAL DESERTS-YUMA/MARTINEZ LAKE AND VICINITY- 1021 AM MST WED AUG 18 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHWEST ARIZONA DESERTS...THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA INCLUDING JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The radar
The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 43 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:37 UTC.
Event by event
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flood in Washington, August 18, 2004
- Lightning Strike in Arizona, August 18, 2004
- Lightning Strike in South Carolina, August 18, 2004
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, August 18, 2004
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, August 18, 2004
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 18, 2004
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, August 18, 2004
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Texas, August 18, 2004
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, August 18, 2004
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 18, 2004
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 18, 2004
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Erie, August 18, 2004
More
Every storm in Arizona in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, August 2004
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: 5415579.