Near record high temperatures were observed across South Central Arizona.
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 PSR wrote it up.
Near record high temperatures were observed across South Central Arizona.
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 Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 28, 9:05 PM MST, 15 hours 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ 905 PM MST SAT FEB 28 2009 .SYNOPSIS... RECORD OR NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED IN MANY AREAS SUNDAY AND MONDAY...AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE REGION. CLEAR SKIES WILL GIVE WAY TO INCREASING HIGH CLOUDS BY MONDAY NIGHT WHEN A PACIFIC DISTURBANCE BEGINS TO MOVE EASTWARD. CLOUDS WILL INCREASE FURTHER BY MIDWEEK...AND COOLER TEMPERATURES WILL PREVAIL FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... A STRONG WARMING TREND IS ON THE WAY AS ALL MODELS SHOW ATMOSPHERIC HEIGHT AND THICKNESS VALUES INCREASING FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY. AN EASTERLY COMPONENT TO OUR SURFACE WIND SUNDAY SHOULD HELP MAX TEMPS REACH THE UPPER 80S...WITH 90 DEGS IN PHOENIX ON MONDAY. A SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT WAS ISSUED TO COVER HEAT RELATED IMPACTS OR RISKS. NUMERICAL MODELS SHOW THE STRONG HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY...THEN WEAKEN AS A NUMBER OF PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS BEGIN TO MOVE INTO THE WESTERN STATES. MODEL DIFFERENCES EMERGE BY MIDWEEK ON THE TIMING AND INTENSITY OF WEATHER SYSTEMS MOVING TO THE NORTH OF OUR FORECAST AREA (SOUTHEAST CA...AND SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL AZ). HOWEVER ITS SAFE TO SAY DRY WEATHER WILL CONTINUE MID WEEK...BUT WITH MUCH COOLER AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES...AND PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES. ON FRIDAY...A STRONGER PACIFIC STORM WILL MOVE INTO THE WESTERN STATES FOR COOLER...WINDY WEATHER...AND PERHAPS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS. BY NEXT WEEKEND...MODELS AGREE ON A CLOSED LOW DROPPING INTO THE LAS VEGAS AREA AND THEN TRACKING INTO THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES BY MARCH 8TH. && .AVIATION... SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...AND SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA... INCLUDING KIPL...KBLH...KPHX...AND KIWA AIRFIELDS. MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WIND UNDER 10 KNOTS EXPECTED THROUGH AT LEAST 03Z MON. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDED TAFS. && .FIRE WEATHER... MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE MONDAY FOR VERY WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS...WITH MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES FROM THE MID TEENS TO SINGLE DIGITS. HIGH PRESSURE WILL SLOWLY WEAKEN TUESDAY INTO MIDWEEK AS A PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES TOWARD OUR AREA...WHICH WILL LEAD TO A COOLING TREND AND GRADUALLY INCREASING HUMIDITIES. BY WEDNESDAY MINIMUM RH VALUES WILL CLIMB INTO THE MID TEENS TO MID 20S. ALSO...BREEZY TO LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY WEDNESDAY AHEAD OF THE WEATHER SYSTEM. LITTLE IF ANY PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE LOW. AS THE SYSTEM DEPARTS...EXPECT SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES THURSDAY AND FRIDAY ALONG WITH LESS WIND AND CONTINUED DRY CONDITIONS. && .PSR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AZ...NONE. CA...NONE. && NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX IS ON THE INTERNET AT WEATHER.GOV/PHOENIX DISCUSSION...VASQUEZ/SIPPLE AVIATION...VASQUEZ FIRE WEATHER...PADDOCK/CB
1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Several heat-related illnesses were reported in Glendale as bright sunshine and near record temperatures were reported during a baseball game. The official high temperature in Phoenix on Sunday was 86 degrees, and the record high was 89 degrees.
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, March 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: 148928.