Scattered thunderstorms developed across Pinal and Pima Counties resulting in strong winds.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 episode as NWS TWC wrote it up.
Scattered thunderstorms developed across Pinal and Pima Counties resulting in strong winds.
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 Aug 1, 1:30 PM MST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 130 PM MST FRI AUG 1 2008 .SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BEGIN TO MOVE INTO THE CENTRAL ROCKIES TODAY AND INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS SATURDAY RESULTING IN A MORE FAVORABLE EASTERLY FLOW FOR SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. THIS WILL BRING AN INCREASED CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO SOUTHEAST ARIZONA BEGINNING THIS EVENING...BUT WITH INCREASING COVERAGE THIS WEEKEND. OTHERWISE...CONTINUED HOT DAYTIME TEMPERATURES TODAY ACROSS THE WESTERN DESERTS...WITH AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES MODERATING LATE THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS UPPER HIGH GENERALLY OVER NORTHERN NEW MEXICO AND SOUTHERN COLORADO WHICH HAS CHANGED THE STEERING FLOW TO A MORE MOIST EASTERLY FLOW. THIS MORNINGS 12Z KTWC SOUNDING WAS RATHER MOIST IN THE MID TO UPPER LEVELS WITH A PWAT OF 1.35 INCHES. MODIFYING THE SOUNDING BASED ON EXPECTED HIGH AND LOWEST DEWPOINT TEMPERATURE REVEALED THAT ANY PARCEL LIFTED WOULD STRUGGLE TO BREAK THE CAP AT AROUND 425MB. HOWEVER...GIVEN THAT THE HIGH CENTER IS SLOWLY SHIFTING TO THE NE...I WOULD SUSPECT THAT THE CAP IS PROBABLY NOT QUITE AS PRONOUNCED NOW. SO...WE COULD SEE ISOLATED STORM DEVELOPMENT LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND ESPECIALLY IN THE EARLY EVENING. MOUNTAIN TOP LOCATIONS WILL LIKELY FIRE OFF FIRST. LATEST RADAR LOOP SHOWS STORMS ALREADY DEVELOPING ALONG THE MOGOLLON RIM WITH STEERING FLOW PUSHING THEM TO THE WEST OR WEST NORTHWEST. NOT MUCH CHANGE TO THE INHERITED FORECAST IN THAT THE MODELS CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE THE HIGH MOVING INTO THE CENTRAL ROCKIES/PLAINS BY LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS/MID MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY BY LATE SUNDAY. MEANWHILE...AN INVERTED TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO MAKE ITS WAY INTO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST LATE SATURDAY/EARLY SUNDAY WHICH WILL RESULT IN AN ENHANCEMENT TO THE ACTIVITY...AND THUS AN UPSWING IN RAIN CHANCES FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY. ANOTHER INVERTED TROUGH IS PROGGED BY BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF TO SLIDE WEST ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL MEXICO...BUT UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME AS TO EXACTLY HOW MUCH THIS WILL AFFECT ARIZONA. FOR NOW WILL JUST KEEP NEAR CLIMO POPS IN THE GRIDS BEYOND MONDAY. HIGH TEMPS AROUND 4 TO 6 DEGS ABOVE NORMAL FOR SATURDAY...AND NEAR NORMAL FOR SUNDAY. ON MONDAY EXPECT HIGHS TO BE AROUND 2 TO 4 DEGS BELOW NORMAL. THEREAFTER...HIGHS NEAR NORMAL. LOWS WILL BE ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD...BUT THE WARMEST DAYS WILL BE THIS WEEKEND. && .AVIATION...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BEGIN TO MOVE INTO THE CENTRAL ROCKIES TODAY AND INTO THE PLAINS SATURDAY RESULTING IN A MORE FAVORABLE EASTERLY FLOW FOR SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. THIS WILL BRING AN INCREASED CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO SOUTHEAST ARIZONA BEGINNING TODAY...WITH INCREASING COVERAGE THIS WEEKEND. ISOLATED TSRA DEVELOPING EAST OF A KSAD-KDUG LINE...WITH CELLS EXPECTED TO MOVE WESTWARD TOWARD KTUS BY LATE AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS. WIND GUSTS TO NEAR 50 KTS POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS...BRIEFLY REDUCING VSBYS TO 1-3SM. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. MOLLERE WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 93 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:38 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Roof damage occurred at a hangar in Pinal airpark. In addition, several trees were uprooted and a large 747 airplane was moved.
A trained spotter estimated wind gusts to 65 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, August 2008
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: 113656, 113658.