Very heavy rainfall occurred throughout much of the Tucson Metro area with some areas receiving in excess of 2 inches of rain. This produced flash flooding and led to a swift water rescue.
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.
Very heavy rainfall occurred throughout much of the Tucson Metro area with some areas receiving in excess of 2 inches of rain. This produced flash flooding and led to a swift water rescue.
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 31, 2:15 PM MST, 5 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 215 PM MST SUN AUG 31 2008 .SYNOPSIS...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE IN SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THROUGH TONIGHT AS A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST. BEHIND THIS TROUGH...MUCH DRIER NORTHWEST FLOW WILL PUSH MOST OF THE MONSOON MOISTURE OUT OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA BEGINNING MONDAY. DRY WEATHER AND HOTTER TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED BEGINNING TUESDAY AND CONTINUING THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION...THE LAST DECENT CHANCE OF RAIN FOR SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FOR AWHILE COMES TONIGHT...AS AN APPROACHING TROUGH INTERACTS WITH A MOIST ATMOSPHERE OVER THE REGION. SCATTERED CONVECTION ALREADY DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON...PRIMARILY OVER COCHISE COUNTY. ELSEWHERE...CONVECTION HAS STRUGGLED TO MAINTAIN ITSELF...BUT WITH SOME HEALTHY TOWERING CUMULUS OUT THE WINDOW HERE IN TUCSON WE WILL KEEP POPS FOR THIS EVENING WHERE THEY ARE FOR NOW. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE EFFICIENT RAINFALL PRODUCERS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY AMOUNTS...BUT THE RELATIVELY RAPID MOVEMENT TO THE NORTHEAST SHOULD PRECLUDE THE NEED FOR A FLASH FLOOD WATCH. ISOLATED STRONG WINDS AND SMALL HAIL STILL POSSIBLE WITH SOME STORMS THROUGH TONIGHT AS VORT MAX APPROACHES FROM SOUTHWEST ARIZONA THIS EVENING. DRIER AIR BEGINS INVADING SOUTHEAST ARIZONA ON MONDAY...BUT WE WILL LIKELY STILL HANG ONTO ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY LOW POPS NEAR THE NEW MEXICO AND INTERNATIONAL BORDERS. THEREAFTER...DRY AIR WILL CONTINUE TO WIN OUT...WITH POPS REDUCED TO NEAR ZERO BY MIDWEEK AND THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. OF COURSE...AS THE MOISTURE LEAVES IT WILL NOT TAKE LONG FOR TEMPERATURES TO BOUNCE BACK TO NEAR CLIMO AND ABOVE...WITH UPPER 90S EXPECTED IN THE LOWER DESERTS BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT. VISIBILITY OCCASIONALLY REDUCED TO IFR IN HEAVY RAINFALL...AND A FEW STORMS MAY BE STRONG WITH OUTFLOW WINDS TO 40 KTS. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES DECREASE SHARPLY MONDAY. LIGHT DIURNALLY DRIVEN WINDS ON MONDAY AT 5-15 KTS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. TURNER WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 1041 AM MST SUN AUG 31 2008 AZZ019-029>035-010600- NORTHERN GREENLEE COUNTY-SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY- UPPER GILA RIVER VALLEY-WESTERN PIMA COUNTY-TOHONO OODHAM NATION- TUCSON METRO/MARANA/GREEN VALLEY-SANTA CRUZ COUNTY-COCHISE COUNTY- 1041 AM MST SUN AUG 31 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE AIRMASS ACROSS SOUTHEAST ARIZONA REMAINED VERY MOIST THIS MORNING. THIS MOISTURE COUPLED WITH A DISTURBANCE MOVING THROUGH FROM MEXICO WILL RESULT IN SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. THE THREAT OF HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND FLASH FLOODING WILL BE HIGH TODAY AND OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A MUCH DRIER AIRMASS WILL SPREAD WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE REGION STARTING MONDAY...LIMITING THE THREAT FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO MAINLY THE MOUNTAINS AND AREAS EAST AND SOUTH OF TUCSON. BY THURSDAY INTO THE WEEKEND...DRY AND WARMER WEATHER WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE REGION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 6 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:00 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A swift water rescue occurred along Highland ave. at Arroyo Chico. Numerous streets in the city of Tucson were also impassable.
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: 122492.