Slow moving thunderstorms developed across portions of Southeast Arizona resulting in localized flash flooding.
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.
Slow moving thunderstorms developed across portions of Southeast Arizona resulting in localized flash flooding.
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 Jul 21, 2:16 PM MST, 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 216 PM MST MON JUL 21 2008 .SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL MEANDER NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS THIS WEEK. THIS WILL KEEP SOUTHEAST ARIZONA IN AN ACTIVE MONSOON FLOW REGIME...WITH DAY TO DAY FLUCTUATIONS IN AREAL COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. ANY THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS WILL BE A THREAT FOR HEAVY RAIN AS THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS UNUSUALLY MOIST...EVEN FOR LATE JULY. && .DISCUSSION...AS WE EXPECTED THIS MORNING...TSTMS DEVELOPED EARLIER AND HAVE BEEN STRONGER COMPARED TO SUNDAY. SUCH WILL BE THE TREND THRU THIS EVENING. RECENT RADAR LOOPS AND VAD WIND PROFILERS SUGGEST THE SECONDARY UPPER HIGH WHICH WAS OVER US EARLIER THIS MORNING HAS WEAKENED A BIT AND SHIFTED INTO SW NM. THIS WILL IMPART A SLIGHT EAST TO WEST STEERING FLOW...TOO LIGHT TO HELP THINGS TO ORGANIZE TO ANY GREAT DEGREE...BUT ENOUGH TO PUSH CELLS OFF INTO THE VALLEYS. WITH SUCH SLOW MOVEMENT AND HIGH PRECIP WATER...RAINFALL RATES UP TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR HAVE BEEN INDICATED BY AUTOMATED MOUNTAIN GAGES AND DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES SO FAR. HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WIND WORDING IS CERTAINLY JUSTIFIED WITH OUR ISOLATED FLASH FLOOD AND WET MICROBURST ISSUES THIS EVENING...BUT THE HEAVY RAIN COVERAGE WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY A FULL BLOWN FLASH FLOOD WATCH. WILL INSTEAD FRESHEN UP OUR HWO FOR THE AFTERNOON PACKAGE. WITH SO MANY LARGE AND SMALL SCALE FEATURES TO MONITOR AND TRACK... IT IS SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT TO PINPOINT WHICH AFTERNOONS/EVENINGS WILL BE MORE ACTIVE THAN OTHERS. THEY ALL LOOK ACTIVE RIGHT NOW. HOWEVER THE ONE OF GREATEST CONCERN IS WED AFTERNOON/EVENING WHEN THE UPPER LOW WE HAVE BEEN TRACKING SINCE IT FORMED OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO LAST WEEK IS PROGGED TO MOVE WEST FROM COAHUILA MX INTO SONORA MX BY WED NIGHT. THIS WILL INCREASE OUR E STEERING FLOW TO 20-25KTS...COOL OUR MID LEVELS A BIT...AND INDUCE AT LEAST MODERATE UPPER DIVERGENCE AS THE SHEAR AXIS OR COMMA HEAD DRAGS ACROSS THE SOUTH 1/2 OF AZ. NAM AND GFS BOTH HIT SE AZ PRETTY HARD...BUT DIFFER ON TIMING. SINCE WE ARE FIGHTING DEBRIS CLOUDS PRETTY MUCH EVERY DAY IN THIS AIRMASS...AND OUR MID LEVEL TEMPS WILL REMAIN RELATIVELY WARM...I AM LEANING TOWARD THE GFS TIMING AT THE MOMENT. EITHER WAY...THE RISK IS INCREASING FOR EITHER ORGANIZED WARM-TOPPED TSTMS COVERING A FAIR AMOUNT OF REAL ESTATE...OR IF WE COOL JUST A BIT MORE ALOFT...A FULL BLOWN MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE COMPLEX LIKE WE HAD SAT NIGHT. ALSO EITHER WAY...SUCH A FORCING MECHANISM IN 2 INCH PRECIP WATER MEANS TSTMS WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE WELL INTO THE OVERNIGHT. WE WILL PROBABLY CYCLE DOWN A BIT FOR THU/FRI...BUT WE DONT BUY ANY MODELS ATTEMPT TO DRY US OUT ONE BIT. IN FACT...WE HAVE TWO TROPICAL SYSTEMS...NOT ONLY DOLLY...BUT ALSO NEWLY NAMED T.S. GENEVIEVE -- BOTH OF WHICH ARE WELL POSITIONED TO SEND REINFORCING MOISTURE THIS WAY AS THE UPPER HIGH BRIDGES OUT INTO N TX AND KEEPS US IN SE-S FLOW. WILL DEFY THE MODELS ON THIS ONE AND CARRY CLIMO POPS PLUS 10 FOR THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. && .AVIATION...SCATTERED CBS/TSTMS WILL DRIFT SLOWLY WEST THROUGH 04Z. THESE STORMS ARE SLOW MOVING...SO IF THEY MOVE OVER A TAF SITE...A 1 HOUR PERIOD OF MVFR CIGS AND 1-2MI VSBYS ARE POSSIBLE IN HEAVY RAIN. OTHERWISE...CB BASES 050-070 ARE EXPECTED THRU MID EVENING. THERE IS LITTLE SUPPORT FOR STORMS TO LAST MUCH PAST 04Z...SO EXPECT JUST REMNANT MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS LATER TONIGHT. GENERALLY LIGHT AND RATHER VARIABLE WINDS ARE EXPECTED...EXCEPT NEAR TSTMS WHERE WET MICROBURST GUSTS TO 45KTS ARE POSSIBLE. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. PYTLAK WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 633 AM MST MON JUL 21 2008 AZZ029-030-032>035-221300- SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY-UPPER GILA RIVER VALLEY- TOHONO OODHAM NATION-TUCSON METRO/MARANA/GREEN VALLEY- SANTA CRUZ COUNTY-COCHISE COUNTY- 633 AM MST MON JUL 21 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP AGAIN TODAY. THE FLOW ALOFT IS RATHER WEAK THIS MORNING...SO STORMS WILL LIKELY MOVE SLOWLY TO THE WEST OR NORTHWEST. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THE STORMS TODAY WILL ONCE AGAIN BE HEAVY RAIN WITH ASSOCIATED FLOODING CONCERNS. THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT HIGH TODAY...BUT GUSTY WINDS ARE A POSSIBILITY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THE INVERTED TROUGH OVER WEST TEXAS WILL SLOWLY MAKE ITS WAY TOWARD THE DESERT SOUTHWEST LATE WEDNESDAY. THIS SYSTEM COULD ENHANCE ACTIVITY ON WEDNESDAY. OTHERWISE...EXPECT A STANDARD MONSOON FORECAST THROUGH SUNDAY. ALTHOUGH NO ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME...A FEW OF THE STORMS THAT DEVELOP COULD APPROACH OR EVEN EXCEED SEVERE WEATHER CRITERIA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. AZZ031-221300- WESTERN PIMA COUNTY- 633 AM MST MON JUL 21 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. EXPECT ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP AGAIN TODAY. THE FLOW ALOFT IS RATHER WEAK THIS MORNING...SO STORMS WILL LIKELY MOVE SLOWLY TO THE WEST OR NORTHWEST. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THE STORMS TODAY WILL ONCE AGAIN BE HEAVY RAIN WITH ASSOCIATED FLOODING CONCERNS. THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT HIGH TODAY...BUT GUSTY WINDS ARE A POSSIBILITY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THE INVERTED TROUGH OVER WEST TEXAS WILL SLOWLY MAKE ITS WAY TOWARD THE DESERT SOUTHWEST LATE WEDNESDAY. THIS SYSTEM COULD ENHANCE ACTIVITY ON WEDNESDAY. OTHERWISE...EXPECT A STANDARD MONSOON FORECAST THROUGH SUNDAY. ALTHOUGH NO ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME...A FEW OF THE STORMS THAT DEVELOP COULD APPROACH OR EVEN EXCEED SEVERE WEATHER CRITERIA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. AZZ019-221300- NORTHERN GREENLEE COUNTY- 633 AM MST MON JUL 21 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. EXPECT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP AGAIN TODAY. THE FLOW ALOFT IS RATHER WEAK THIS MORNING...SO STORMS WILL LIKELY MOVE SLOWLY TO THE WEST OR NORTHWEST. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THE STORMS TODAY WILL ONCE AGAIN BE HEAVY RAIN WITH ASSOCIATED FLOODING CONCERNS. THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT HIGH TODAY...BUT GUSTY WINDS ARE A POSSIBILITY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THE INVERTED TROUGH OVER WEST TEXAS WILL SLOWLY MAKE ITS WAY TOWARD THE DESERT SOUTHWEST LATE WEDNESDAY. THIS SYSTEM COULD ENHANCE ACTIVITY ON WEDNESDAY. OTHERWISE...EXPECT A STANDARD MONSOON FORECAST THROUGH SUNDAY. ALTHOUGH NO ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME...A FEW OF THE STORMS THAT DEVELOP COULD APPROACH OR EVEN EXCEED SEVERE WEATHER CRITERIA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 109 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:28 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Several washes near the state prison in Fort Grant were flooded.
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, July 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: 105205.