A strong thunderstorm produced heavy rainfall and flash flooding in portions of Graham County.
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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 TWC wrote it up.
A strong thunderstorm produced heavy rainfall and flash flooding in portions of Graham County.
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 18, 2:10 PM MST, 3 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 210 PM MST MON AUG 18 2008 .SYNOPSIS...EXPECT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DRIER AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA TUESDAY AND LIMIT THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY THE REST OF THE WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...STILL GOOD MOISTURE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY WITH 12Z KTUS SOUNDING COMING IN AROUND 1.5 INCHES AND SURFACE DEWPTS HANGING ON TO 60 THIS AFTERNOON IN MOST AREAS. TRENDS ON GOES SOUNDER ESTIMATES WOULD KEEP THIS DEEPER MOISTURE OVER THE AREA TODAY. SHEAR NOT BAD...BUT WARM MID LEVELS DAMPENING THINGS A BIT. WITH THE LOW NOW NEAR FAR NORTHERN TEXAS AND WESTERN OKLAHOMA PUSHING DEEPER INTO THE PLAINS TONIGHT...AND THE RIDGE BUILDING JUST WEST OF US...A DRY NORTHERLY FLOW WILL START TO LIMIT CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY BY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. NOT SURE IF IT WILL SHUT US COMPLETELY DOWN...SO WE WILL KEEP SOME BUILDUPS IN THE MOUNTAINS. THIS TREND LIKELY TO CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND AS A STRONG TROUGH PUSHES INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND THE RIDGE BUCKLES SOUTHWEST TOWARD AREAS OFF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST. RESULTING WESTERLY FLOW SHOULD STILL BE ON THE DRY SIDE...BUT A MODEST MOISTURE INCREASE BRINGING A FEW STORMS BACK IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION AT THAT POINT. BOTTOM LINE IS...SHOULD HAVE SOME STORMS AROUND TODAY BUT PICKINGS WILL GET MUCH SLIMMER AS THE WEEK PROGRESSES. && .AVIATION...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED TSRA/SHRA ACROSS SE AZ CONTINUING INTO THIS EVENING. BULK OF TSRA/SHRA TO END AFTER 19/06Z. CLOUD DECKS GENERALLY 7-10K FT AGL DURING THE 21Z-06Z PERIOD. LIGHT DIURNALLY DRIVEN SURFACE WINDS EXCEPT VERY BRIEF GUSTS OF 25-35 KTS NEAR TSRA. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 139 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:18 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement reported that boulders were flowing across Highway 191 between Guthrie and Safford due to flooding.
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: 124088.