A rich supply of moisture across southeast Arizona led to numerous showers and thunderstorms during the evening hours. A large complex of thunderstorms affected much of eastern Pima county, with many areas receiving significant rainfall.
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.
A rich supply of moisture across southeast Arizona led to numerous showers and thunderstorms during the evening hours. A large complex of thunderstorms affected much of eastern Pima county, with many areas receiving significant rainfall.
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 3, 9:15 PM MST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 915 PM MST FRI JUL 3 2009 .SYNOPSIS...ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL BRING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND. AS A TROUGH PROGRESSES INTO THE WEST COAST...DRIER AIR WILL MOVE INTO ARIZONA NEXT WEEK FOR A DECREASE IN MOISTURE AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. && .DISCUSSION...BUSY AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING. EASTERN PIMA COUNTY WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY FILL IN FROM THE NORTH OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. HEAVY RAIN WITH WET MICROBURST REMAIN A CONCERN THIS EVENING. COVERAGE WILL PERSIST OVERNIGHT WITH THE COMPLEX THROUGH MUCH OF OUR CWA. PLENTY OF MOISTURE THROUGH MOST OF THE WEEKEND FOR PERIODS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. && .PREV DISCUSSION...THE 500 MB HIGH CENTER IS OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS TODAY. WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO SEE A MID-LEVEL DEFORMATION ZONE ROTATING NORTHWARD INTO THE FAR SE CORNER OF THE STATE INTO THE EARLY EVENING. THIS FEATURE WILL SERVE AS AS AN MECHANISM FOR THUNDERSTORM CONVECTION ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. GIVEN THE WEAK STORM MOTION...THE VERY MOIST AIRMASS AND THIS FOCUSING MECHANISM ROTATING NORTHWARD ACROSS OUT NECK OF THE WOODS...I CONSIDERED THE POSSIBILITY OF ISSUING A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF MY FORECAST AREA. HOWEVER...I BELIEVE THAT THE WEAK FEATURES MOVING ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA ARE NOT SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO ALLOW STORMS TO ORGANIZE INTO AND SIGNIFICANT THUNDERSTORM CLUSTERS. GIVEN THIS...I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE HEAVY RAIN WILL BE WIDESPREAD ENOUGH TO WARRANT THE WATCH. THE 12Z NAM AND GFS MODELS TRY TO PICK UP A MID-LEVEL DISTURBANCE CURRENTLY FIRING STORMS OVER EAST-CENTRAL SONORA MEXICO AND SHIFTS IT INTO SOUTH CENTRAL AZ LATE THIS EVENING INTO THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD. THIS FEATURE...IF IT INDEED MAKES ITS WAY UP INTO OUR NECK OF THE WOODS COULD HELP ORGANIZE CONVECTION ACROSS THE WESTERN HALF OF THE CWA AFTER MIDNIGHT AND HELP PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL. IN ANY EVENT...I HAVE REFLECTED THIS THINKING IN THE 06Z-12Z DIGITAL GRIDS. OTHERWISE...THE UPPER TROUGH PUSHING INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST SQUASHES THE RIDGE...EVEN RESULTING IN A WEST/NORTHWEST FLOW INTO SOUTHEAST ARIZONA LATE THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. ALTHOUGH THIS WONT ENTIRELY REMOVE OUR MOISTURE...IT WILL REDUCE IT ENOUGH TO LIMIT THE OVERALL COVERAGE OF STORMS ACROSS OUR FORECAST AREA. && .AVIATION...NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS PERSIST THIS EVENING. THESE STORMS WILL LOWER VISIBILITIES TO 1-3 NM IN HEAVY RAIN...WITH LOWER THAN NORMAL CLOUD CEILINGS. ALTHOUGH THE RISK FOR STRONG AND GUSTY THUNDERSTORM WINDS TO 45 MPH STILL EXISTS...THE OVERALL THREAT OF STRONG WINDS IS MINIMAL. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...A MOIST ATMOSPHERE ACROSS SOUTHEAST ARIZONA WILL RESULT IN SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. A TROUGH MOVING TOWARDS THE WEST COAST WILL SHIFT A DRIER WESTERLY FLOW INTO ARIZONA NEXT WEEK...ALTHOUGH ENOUGH MOISTURE SHOULD REMAIN IN PLACE TO MINIMIZE ANY FIRE WEATHER RISKS AND CONCERNS. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 1039 AM MST FRI JUL 3 2009 AZZ019-029>035-041200- 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- 1039 AM MST FRI JUL 3 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT AN ACTIVE AFTERNOON AND EVENING IS EXPECTED AS MONSOON MOISTURE CONTINUES TO STREAM INTO THE STATE. BECAUSE OF WEAK STEERING WINDS...THE MAIN THREAT FROM THE STORMS TODAY AND THIS EVENING WILL BE FROM HEAVY RAIN AND POSSIBLY FLASH FLOODING. A FEW LOCATIONS COULD RECEIVE 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN IN ONLY AN HOUR OR TWO. ISOLATED...STRONG DOWNBURST WINDS APPROACHING SEVERE LEVELS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE...BUT THE RISK OF WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE LOW. THOSE WITH OUTDOOR PLANS ON THE START OF THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER CLOSELY...AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE INDOORS QUICKLY. ANY THUNDERSTORM...REGARDLESS OF INTENSITY... PRODUCES DANGEROUS CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN A THREAT ON INDEPENDENCE DAY THROUGHOUT SOUTHEAST ARIZONA...WITH THE MAIN THREAT AGAIN IN THE FORM OF HEAVY RAIN AND LIGHTNING. SOME DRYING WILL GRADUALLY SPREAD FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS ARIZONA STARTING ON SUNDAY. THIS WILL REDUCE THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE NEW WEEK... PARTICULARLY WEST OF TUCSON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. PYTLAK WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
830 PM MST FRI JUL 03 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0530 PM TSTM WND DMG 10 N COVERED WELLS 32.32N 112.14W
07/03/2009 PIMA AZ EMERGENCY MNGR
TWO POWER POLES KNOCKED DOWN ON HIGHWAY 15, NORTH OF
HIGHWAY 86 ON THE TOHONO OODHAM NATION. TIME IS
APPROXIMATE.
&&
LADERThe Tucson radar (KEMX), 42 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:59 UTC.
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Swift water rescue reported by broadcast media near the intersection of Bonanza and Tanque Verde.
Broadcast media reported that a swift water rescue was performed in Corona de Tucson.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, July 2009
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: 170958, 186704.