An area of low pressure along with a cold front brought very strong winds to northern Arizona on June 4th.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 FGZ wrote it up.
An area of low pressure along with a cold front brought very strong winds to northern Arizona on June 4th.
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 Jun 4, 9:00 AM MST, 4 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 900 AM MST WED JUN 4 2008 .SYNOPSIS...A WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN TODAY AND INTO THE ROCKIES BY THURSDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS TO THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...FOLLOWED BY COOLER TEMPERATURES FOR THURSDAY. THERE WILL ALSO BE A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. DRY AND OCCASIONALLY WINDY WEATHER IS EXPECTED FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION...AN APPROACHING STORM SYSTEM AND COLD FRONT WILL BRING WINDY CONDITIONS TO THE NORTHLAND TODAY...ALONG WITH A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE UTAH BORDER. THE COLD CORE OF THE STORM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE ARIZONA UTAH BORDER LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT WHICH WILL RESULT IN A SLIGHTLY UNSTABLE AIR MASS. AS A RESULT...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE A THREAT NEAR THE UTAH BORDER LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL LIKELY BE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WHERE SOUTHWEST WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 50 MPH ARE ANTICIPATED. THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE KAIBAB PLATEAU MAY ALSO SEE SOME OF THE PRECIPITATION IN THE FORM OF SNOW. THE STORM SHOULD BE EAST OF ARIZONA BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON WITH THE THREAT OF PRECIPITATION ENDING AND LIGHTER WINDS. FROM FRIDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES...DRY WEATHER AND AFTERNOON SOUTHWEST BREEZES...ARE EXPECTED AS ARIZONA REMAINS SITUATED BETWEEN HIGH PRESSURE TO THE SOUTHEAST AND LOW PRESSURE TO THE NORTH AND WEST. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 18Z PACKAGE...EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH 21Z-23Z WITH INCREASING SOUTHWEST WINDS REACHING SPEEDS OF 20-30 KTS WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 KTS BY 19Z. AFT 21Z-23Z...A COLD FRONT WILL BRING AREAS OF BKN CIGS 2-4 KFT AGL TO ROUTES NORTH OF KGCN. EMBEDDED IN THIS FRONT WILL BE SCT -SHRA/-SHSN AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCALIZED CIGS BKN AOB 1 KFT AGL. THIS FRONT AND ASSOCIATED MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS AND PRECIPITATION SHOULD DROP AS FAR SOUTH AS KFLG BY 04Z-06Z...AFFECTING ALL ROUTES NORTH OF A LINE FROM KGCN-KFLG-KRQE THROUGH 12Z THURSDAY. THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL SHIFT TO NORTHEAST ARIZONA AFTER 12Z THURSDAY...WITH IMPROVING CONDITIONS ELSEWHERE. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...THERE IS A RED FLAG WARNING FROM 11 AM MST UNTIL 7 PM MST FOR ZONES 104>118-137>140. SEE PHXRFWFGZ FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. SEE FIRE WEATHER FORECAST (PHXFWFFGZ) FOR ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION OF DAYS 1 AND 2. FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...EXPECT DRY WITH NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD. CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AFTERNOONS AS A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE PASSES TO OUR NORTH. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO MIDNIGHT MST TONIGHT FOR ARIZONA ZONES 011-013-014-017-040. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR ARIZONA ZONES 004>010-012-015-016-018-037>039. RED FLAG WARNING FROM 11 AM UNTIL 7 PM MST TODAY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES AZZ104>118-137>140. && PUBLIC...MCCOLLUM AVIATION/FIRE WEATHER...JOHNDROW VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF FOR MORE NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 635 AM MST WED JUN 4 2008 AZZ004>018-037>040-050700- 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- 635 AM MST WED JUN 4 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO...NORTHERN GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO NORTHEAST ARIZONA LATE TODAY INTO THURSDAY. THIS WILL BRING STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS TO NORTHERN ARIZONA INTO THE LATE EVENING. A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED...PLEASE SEE THE LATEST ADVISORY PRODUCT (PHXNPWFGZ) FOR DETAILS. CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY AS WELL...AND A RED FLAG WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR WEDNESDAY...PLEASE SEE THE LATEST RED FLAG WARNING PRODUCT (PHXRFWFGZ) FOR DETAILS. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE FRONT THIS EVENING...MAINLY OVER THE NORTHERN THIRD OF THE STATE. MUCH COLDER AIR WILL ARRIVE BEHIND THE FRONT...WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS ABOVE 7500 FEET FROM THE KAIBAB PLATEAU TO THE CHUSKA MOUNTAINS LATE TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The House Rock RAWS recorded a peak wind gust of 59 MPH.
The Show Low Airport reported a peak wind gust of 50 Knots.
The Frazier Wells RAWS recorded a peak wind gust of 59 MPH.
A trained spotter 15 miles southwest of Winslow reported a peak wind gust of 62 MPH on his weather station.
Very strong winds blew out numerous windows and caused extensive damage to Cliffdwellers Lodge near Vermillion Cliffs during the late afternoon on June 4th. The winds, possibly enhanced by the nearby cliffs, blew out windows in 5 parked cars and several of the motel rooms in the Lodge. The housing units also had broken windows, some damaged awnings, and and damaged trailer skirtings. Both the Lee's Ferry and Marble Canyon Lodges reported high winds but, no damage. Blowing dust made it difficult to even see across Highway 89A.
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, June 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: 120959, 120973, 120954, 120980, 121045.