Strong to severe thunderstorms with locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding developed across Southeast Arizona. These storms primarily impacted Graham, Cochise and Pima Counties.
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.
Strong to severe thunderstorms with locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding developed across Southeast Arizona. These storms primarily impacted Graham, Cochise and Pima Counties.
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 3, 1:55 PM MST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 155 PM MST SUN AUG 3 2008 .SYNOPSIS...AMPLE MOISTURE AND FAVORABLE FLOW WILL BRING A DAILY CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THIS WEEK. DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURES TRENDING CLOSE TO NORMAL. && .DISCUSSION...KEMX WSR-88D DETECTED SCATTERED 30-55 DBZ ECHOES ACROSS THE WHITE MOUNTAINS AS WELL AS NORTH-CENTRAL COCHISE COUNTY SOUTH OF WILLCOX. THE REST OF SE AZ WAS VOID OF PRECIP ECHOES AT THIS TIME. MSAS SURFACE LI/S VALID 03/20Z WERE NEAR ZERO TUCSON VICINITY WWD WITH MINUS 6 LI/S NEAR THE AZ/NM BORDER. WATER VAPOR SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATED SEVERAL CYCLONIC CIRCULATION FEATURES IN THE DEEP MOISTURE REGIME ACROSS SRN AZ/SONORA/CHIHUAHUA REGION. 03/12Z GFS SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS WITH REGARD TO INDICATED WIDESPREAD PRECIP EVENT ACROSS SE AZ LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. HOWEVER...THE 03/12Z NAM WAS NOT AS ROBUST WITH POTENTIAL WIDESPREAD EVENT VERSUS THE NAM. AT ANY RATE...WILL OPT FOR SCATTERED-NUMEROUS SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THIS FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING WITH PRECIP DECREASING SOMEWHAT LATE TONIGHT. DID INCREASE INHERITED POPS FOR THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD PARTICULARLY TUCSON VICINITY WWD WITH NOTION THAT MCS MAY DEVELOP OVER THE AREA THIS EVENING...THEN MOVE WWD AND DECAY BY MON MORNING. DEEP MOISTURE PROGGED ACROSS THE AREA MON TO JUSTIFY ANOTHER ROUND OF SCATTERED-NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THEREAFTER...03/12Z GFS DEPICTED MID-LEVEL DRYING TO OCCUR STARTING TUE AND CONTINUING INTO THUR. CONFIDENCE IS NOT HIGH AT THIS TIME TO REFLECT A SIGNIFICANT DOWNWARD PRECIP TREND DURING THAT PERIOD ALTHOUGH THAT SCENARIO MAY ACTUALLY OCCUR. THE UPSHOT IS THAT MOISTURE AND FLOW SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO MAINTAIN THE DAILY CYCLE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE MIDDLE AND LATTER PORTION OF THIS WEEK. DAYTIME HIGH TEMPS GENERALLY TRENDING CLOSE TO NORMAL FOR EARLY AUGUST THROUGHOUT THIS FORECAST PERIOD. && .AVIATION...EXPECT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SE AZ INTO MONDAY. CLOUD DECKS GENERALLY 6-8K FT AGL WITH LOWER CEILINGS VICINITY TSRA. VISIBILITIES AS LOW AS 1SM AND BRIEF WIND GUSTS TO 50 KTS WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. BF WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 136 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:26 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter reported a tree had fallen on a car in Safford.
A trained spotter reported 1.5 feet of water flowing over Cholla Street.
A roof was partially blown off a house east of Sells.
Swift water rescue was attempted at Sells Wash near Sells. The vehicle was washed away attempting to cross wash. Three people died and two were rescued.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Pima | 2008-08-03 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct | ||
| Flash Flood, Pima | 2008-08-03 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct | ||
| Flash Flood, Pima | 2008-08-03 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
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: 113667, 113669, 113662, 113664.