A thunderstorm produced accumulating hail, heavy rain, and wind gusts to 30 MPH in and around the community of Parks.
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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 FGZ wrote it up.
A thunderstorm produced accumulating hail, heavy rain, and wind gusts to 30 MPH in and around the community of Parks.
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 Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 15, 3:30 AM MST, 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 330 AM MST FRI AUG 15 2008 .SYNOPSIS...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND ACROSS MUCH OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ARIZONA. AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES WILL COOL SLIGHTLY EACH DAY...BUT WILL STILL REMAIN NEAR NORMAL. && .DISCUSSION...A VERY TRICKY AND UNUSUAL SITUATION IS DEVELOPING FOR LATER TODAY...AND THROUGH THE WEEKEND. AN EARLY SEASON MID-LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER NORTHEASTERN WYOMING IS PROGGED TO DROP SOUTH INTO NORTHEASTERN UTAH LATE TODAY...AND THEN WILL LINGER OVER COLORADO SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...BEFORE MOVING EAST EARLY NEXT WEEK. AHEAD OF THIS LOW...ARIZONA HAS ESSENTIALLY BEEN DIVIDED INTO TWO PARTS FOR THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS. THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE STATE HAVE BEEN EMBEDDED IN DEEP MOISTURE...WHILE THE NORTHERN ZONES HAVE BEEN DRY. THE MISPLACED MID-LEVEL HIGH THAT IS WELL NORTHWEST OF THE NORMAL AUGUST POSITION HAS ALLOWED HIGH PW VALUES TO MOVE INTO SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. ALL THESE FACTORS WILL COME TOGETHER IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS THIS RATHER ANOMALOUS PATTERN UNFOLDS. THE KEY FACTOR TODAY WILL BE THE SAME AS THURSDAY...THE LOCATION OF THE MID-LEVEL DEFORMATION ZONE. THIS AREA WILL ACTUALLY STRENGTHEN AND MOVE SLIGHTLY FARTHER NORTH TODAY AS THE LOW TO OUR NORTH MOVES TOWARD UTAH. DESPITE WESTERLY FLOW OVER THE REGION...THE HIGHER PW VALUES TO OUR WEST AND NORTHWEST WILL ADVECT INTO ARIZONA...WITH PW VALUES INCREASING AS FAR NORTH AS THE GRAND CANYON. THIS SETS UP A DECENT ENVIRONMENT FOR CONVECTION ALONG AND JUST NORTH OF THE DEFORMATION BAND...WITH CONVECTION THEN MOVING SOUTHWEST INTO THE DEEPER MOISTURE SOUTH OF THE RIM. THIS PATTERN WILL CONTINUE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AS WELL...WITH THUNDERSTORMS TO THE SOUTH EACH EVENING PUSHING OUTFLOWS BACK NORTH TOWARD THE DEFORMATION ZONE AND THEN REPEATING EACH DAY. THIS COMBINATION OF DYNAMICALLY DRIVEN STORMS IN PROXIMITY TO DEEP MONSOONAL MOISTURE COULD BE A RECIPE FOR SEVERE WEATHER AND FLOODING THIS WEEKEND. THE EXACT PATH AND TRAJECTORY OF THE COLD POOL ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW...AND EVENTUAL DAILY LOCATION OF THE DEFORMATION ZONE AND DEEPEST MOISTURE GRADIENT WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED CLOSELY ALL WEEKEND AS THIS PATTERN EVOLVES. BY NEXT WEEK...WE GET BACK INTO THE SAME PATTERN WE HAVE BEEN IN THIS WEEK. DRY NORTHERLY FLOW NORTH OF I-40...WITH LOW TO MEDIUM GRADE MONSOON CONDITIONS CONTINUING SOUTH OF THE RIM. THIS MAY ALL CHANGE BY THE MIDDLE TO END OF NEXT WEEK PER THE 00Z GFS...WHICH DROPS ANOTHER RATHER STRONG TROUGH INTO THE GREAT BASIN. THIS WOULD MOVE THE DEEP MOISTURE POOL BACK NORTHWARD INTO MUCH OF THE STATE...BUT WE WILL WAIT AND SEE ON THIS. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 12Z PACKAGE...SKC TO SCT 150-200 THROUGH 18Z...THEN SCT SHRA/TSRA ALONG MOGOLLON RIM AND INTO THE WHITE MOUNTAINS...WITH STORMS DROPPING SOUTH INTO PORTIONS OF NORTHERN GILA COUNTY...ONLY A FEW OF THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE MVFR CONDITIONS. ISOLD -SHRA/-TSRA CAN BE EXPECTED NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. CLEARING IS EXPECTED AFTER 02Z. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...SEE FIRE WEATHER FORECAST (FWFFGZ) FOR DISCUSSION OF DAYS 1 AND 2. SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...EXPECT SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM WITH ISOLATED STORMS NORTH OF THE RIM THROUGH THE PERIOD. MINIMUM IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN ABOVE 15 PERCENT FOR THE PERIOD EXCEPT FOR AREAS ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER. && PUBLIC...............PETERSON AVIATION/FIRE WX.....MAS VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 902 PM MST THU AUG 14 2008 AZZ004>018-037>040-150400- WESTERN MOGOLLON RIM-GRAND CANYON COUNTRY-YAVAPAI COUNTY MOUNTAINS- YAVAPAI COUNTY VALLEYS AND BASINS-OAK CREEK AND SYCAMORE CANYONS- MARBLE AND GLEN CANYONS-KAIBAB PLATEAU-COCONINO PLATEAU- NORTHEAST PLATEAU AND MESAS HWY 264 NORTHWARD- NORTHEAST PLATEAU AND MESAS SOUTH OF HWY 264- CHINLE VALLEY-CHUSKA MOUNTAINS AND DEFIANCE PLATEAU- BLACK MESA AREA-LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN COCONINO COUNTY- LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN NAVAJO COUNTY- LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN APACHE COUNTY- EASTERN MOGOLLON RIM-WHITE MOUNTAINS-NORTHERN GILA COUNTY- 902 PM MST THU AUG 14 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO...NORTHERN GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...THIS EVENING THE LINE OF STRONG STORMS THAT DEVELOPED OVER YAVAPAI AND NORTHERN GILA COUNTIES EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON...PRODUCED A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...THIS LINE HAS MOVED SOUTH INTO MARICOPA COUNTY AND SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY THIS EVENING. LOOK FOR SOME LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN SHOWERS THROUGH 900 PM MST SOUTH OF A PRESCOTT TO PAYSON LINE. OTHERWISE IMPROVING CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY MONSOONAL MOISTURE IS EXPECTED TO LINGER ALONG AND SOUTHWEST OF THE MOGOLLON RIM...INCLUDING YAVAPAI AND NORTHERN GILA COUNTIES...WITH A CHANCE OF MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THESE AREAS. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE FOR AREAS NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 103 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:05 UTC.
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Nickel sized (7/8 inch diameter) hail fell in and around Parks. The hail covered the ground like snow. A spotter reported 4 inches of hail on the ground. The wind was gusting to 30 MPH during this storm.
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: 129992.