An increase in moisture across southeast Arizona resulted in scattered thunderstorms. Thunderstorms initiated relatively early during the midday hours.
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.
An increase in moisture across southeast Arizona resulted in scattered thunderstorms. Thunderstorms initiated relatively early during the midday hours.
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 10, 9:00 AM MST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 900 AM MST SAT JUL 10 2010 .SYNOPSIS...MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE ACROSS SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THROUGH THE WEEKEND...RESULTING IN INCREASING SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY...ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. A DRYING TREND WILL THEN TAKE PLACE EARLY TO MID NEXT WEEK... FOLLOWED BY A RETURN OF INCREASING THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY DURING THE LATTER PORTION OF THE WEEK AS MOISTURE RETURNS TO THE REGION. && .DISCUSSION...THIS MORNINGS KTWC SOUNDING SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN MOISTURE WITH A PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUE OF 1.41 INCHES. IN ADDITION...THE AIRMASS IS UNSTABLE WITH A LIFTED INDEX OF AROUND MINUS 2. MODIFYING THE SOUNDING USING T=103;TD=49 YIELDS A CAPE OF AROUND 200-300 J/KG. THERE IS A CAP ON THE SOUNDING AT AROUND 425MB THAT COULD LIMIT CONVECTION...BUT WITH THE REMNANTS OF A TROPICAL DEPRESSION SEEN ON VISIBLE IMAGERY OVER WESTERN CHIHUAHUA MEXICO THAT IS EXPECTED TO MAKE ITS WAY IN THIS DIRECTION OVER THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS...THAT SHOULD ERODE THIS CAP. IN FACT MODEL SOUNDINGS DO SHOW THIS CAP WEAKENING DURING THE AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS. WITH THAT SAID...I THINK THE INHERITED SCATTERED TO LIKELY POPS FOR LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING SEEM TO BE RIGHT ON TRACK. && AVIATION...ISOLD -SHRA NW OF KTUS BETWEEN GILA BEND AND PHOENIX THRU 18Z. ISOLD TO SCT TSRA/SHRA DEVELOPING AFT 18Z TODAY ELSEWHERE. CLOUDS 8-10KFT AGL SCT-BKN AND 12-15KFT AGL BKN-OVC. SURFACE WIND GENERALLY ELY/SELY 5-15 KTS WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 20 KTS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE INTO THE REGION FROM THE SOUTH AND EAST TODAY AND SUNDAY...WITH DEEP MOISTURE EXPECTED TO BE IN PLACE ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. THIS WILL LEAD TO INCREASING SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. STRONG...ERRATIC...AND GUSTY WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED FROM SOME THUNDERSTORM OUTFLOWS. && .CLIMATE...THE LOW TEMPERATURE YESTERDAY (JULY 9TH, 2010) AT THE TUCSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 87 F. THIS BROKE THE OLD RECORD FOR THE HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 86 F SET BACK IN 1915. && .PREV DISCUSSION...THE LARGE SCALE PATTERN HAS A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST...A TROUGH OVER THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES AND AN ELONGATED AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE EXTENDING FROM EASTERN TEXAS...WESTWARD INTO ARIZONA. BY SUNDAY...THE HIGH WILL CONSOLIDATE NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS REGION. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR A DEEPENING FLOW OF MOISTURE INTO THE FORECAST AREA. THE LATEST PW SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS DEEPER MOISTURE JUST SOUTH/SOUTHEAST OF THE STATE ACROSS NORTHERN MEXICO. MOST RECENT RAOB'S ALREADY OVER THE ONE-INCH PW VALUE AND EXPECT THIS VALUE TO CLIMB TO NEAR 1.5 INCHES EITHER LATER TODAY OR BY EARLY SUNDAY. IN ADDITION TO TYPICAL CONVECTION BEING INITIATED BY THE HIGHER TERRAIN...A REMNANT UPPER LOW/CIRCULATION WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHWEST TOWARD THE REGION ACROSS NORTHERN MEXICO. IR IMAGERY SHOWS A RATHER ACTIVE AREA OF CONVECTION CURRENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FEATURE IN CHIHUAHUA MEXICO. THIS FEATURE WILL SERVE AS A FOCUS FOR CONVECTION TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY WHEN IT IS EXPECTED TO BE CENTERED JUST SOUTHEAST OF DOUGLAS. THEREFORE...EXPECT AN UPSWING IN THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TODAY AND THEN AN EVEN STRONGER THUNDERSTORM DAY ON SUNDAY...AS LONG AS SUSTAINED CONVECTION TONIGHT DOES NOT WORK OVER THE ATMOSPHERE OR CHOKE OFF SOLAR INSOLATION ON SUNDAY. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE STRONG STORMS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. THE MODELS THEN SHOW THE UPPER HIGH MOVING NEARLY OVERHEAD NEXT WEEK. AT THE SAME TIME...A STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER OF STATES. THIS SYSTEM WILL ADVECT SOME DRIER AIR INTO WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE REGION...WHILE THE HIGH BEING CENTERED OVERHEAD WILL WARM MID LEVEL TEMPERATURES. BOTH OF THESE WILL ACT TO DIMINISH SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. THE PREVIOUS MODEL RUNS HAD SHOWED THE HIGH CENTER SHIFTING FURTHER TO OUR NORTHWEST WHICH WOULD HAVE HAD A MORE SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON DRYING. HOWEVER...THE LATEST RUN DOES NOT SHOW THE UPPER HIGH SHIFTING AS FAR NORTHWEST... AND THUS...DOES NOT DRY US OUT AS MUCH AS THE PREVIOUS RUNS. SO EVEN THOUGH THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO BE DOWN IN THE MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY TIME FRAME NEXT WEEK...WE MAY NEED TO EVENTUALLY BUMP UP POPS...ESPECIALLY OVER THE EASTERN AREAS WHERE LINGERING MOISTURE WILL COMBINE WITH THE HIGHER TERRAIN FOR ISOLATED TO SCATTERED AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING CONVECTION. AT THIS TIME...WILL WAIT FOR A LITTLE MORE CONSISTENCY IN THE MODEL RUNS BEFORE JUMPING ON BOARD WITH RAMPING UP POPS NEXT WEEK. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 1030 AM MST SAT JUL 10 2010 AZZ019-029>035-111400- 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- 1030 AM MST SAT JUL 10 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE AMPLE MOISTURE PRESENT IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE OVER SOUTHEAST ARIZONA WILL RESULT IN SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT. ALTHOUGH A LAYER OF WARM AIR ALOFT IS YET AGAIN PRESENT TODAY...WHICH WILL HINDER THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEEP AND STRONG THUNDERSTORMS....THIS LAYER OF WARM AIR WILL COOL OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS...BECOMING MORE UNSTABLE. EXPECT SCATTERED MAINLY MOUNTAIN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON...WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS PERSISTING INTO THIS EVENING AND POSSIBLY OVERNIGHT. BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN...WITH STRONG GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS IN THE VALLEYS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY MOISTURE WILL BE REINFORCED SUNDAY WITH A SURGE OF MOISTURE FROM THE SOUTH INTO SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. THE COMBINATION OF THIS MOISTURE...A DISTURBANCE MOVING TOWARDS THE EXTREME SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE STATE FROM NORTH CENTRAL MEXICO...AND A MORE UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE WILL RESULT IN AN INCREASE IN THE COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SUNDAY. STRONG GUSTY WINDS...BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL...SMALL HAIL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING WILL OCCUR WITH THESE STORMS SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Two men were injured due to a lightning strike on a golf course. One man suffered life threatening injuries, which he later died from. Another man was about 50 feet away, and received a milder shock from the lightning strike.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Pima | 2010-07-14 | 53 | Male | Golfing | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, July 2010
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: 233638.