An upper level low pressure system was centered in central Arizona on July 24th. Drier air rotated around this feature into southeast Arizona, limiting thunderstorm development.
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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 upper level low pressure system was centered in central Arizona on July 24th. Drier air rotated around this feature into southeast Arizona, limiting thunderstorm development. Enough moisture was present to produce isolated short-lived thunderstorms that were capable of briefly damaging winds.
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 24, 3:10 PM MST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 310 PM MST SAT JUL 24 2010 .SYNOPSIS...PLENTY OF MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN A CHANCE OF MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS. && .DISCUSSION...STARTED OFF THE DAY WITH FULL SUNSHINE AND WITH A VERY MOIST ATMOSPHERE IN PLACE...IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR DEVELOPMENT TO GET GOING OVER/NEAR THE HIGHER TERRAIN. DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATED RAINFALL IN A FEW AREAS IN COCHISE COUNTY MAY HAVE RECORDED UP TO 2 INCHES WITH A FEW SPOTS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CATALINAS RECORDING UP TO AN INCH. AS OF 3 PM MST...ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED ACTIVITY WAS MAINLY IN GREENLEE...GRAHAM AND COCHISE COUNTIES. I HAVE ADJUSTED POPS FOR THIS EVENING WITH LESS THAN 20% FROM TUCSON WEST AND THE HIGHER POPS EAST OF TUCSON. MAIN THREAT TONIGHT FROM SLOW MOVING STORMS WILL BE HEAVY RAIN LEADING TO VERY LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING PROBLEMS. ACTIVITY WILL BE DIMINISHING AFTER THE SETTING SUN BUT WILL HOLD ON TO A SLIGHT CHANCE...MAINLY EASTERN SECTIONS...AS UPPER LOW OVER THE STATE OPENS UP AS IT MOVES SLOWLY TO THE EAST. SUNDAY...UPPER TROF WILL GENERALLY BE ALONG THE AZ/NM BORDER WITH NORTHERLY FLOW INCREASING OVER THE AREA. FURTHER NORTH THE UPPER HIGH WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE GREAT BASIN. STILL PLENTY OF MOISTURE AROUND FOR SCATTERED AFTERNOON/EVENING THUNDERSTORMS...WITH HEAVY RAIN THE MAIN THREAT. MONDAY...FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE EASTERLY AS UPPER HIGH MOVES TO NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS. THIS WILL ALLOW THE TROUGH OVER WESTERN NEW MEXICO TO MOVE WEST OVER THE AREA AS AN INVERTED TROF. THUS EXPECTING BETTER UPPER DYNAMICS TO PROVIDE BETTER AREAL COVERAGE OF STORMS. HEAVY RAIN WILL STILL BE MAIN THREAT FROM STORMS. TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...STANDARD MONSOON FORECAST IN PLACE WITH LITTLE WIGGLES/SPINNERS ENHANCING ACTIVITY. && .AVIATION...WDLY SCTD TS/SHRA...MAINLY E OF TUCSON...WILL DIMINISH/END AFTER 24/05Z...THEN REDEVELOP AGAIN AFTER 24/18Z. GUSTS UP TO 40 KNOTS NEAR STORMS THIS EVENING AND ONCE AGAIN ON SUNDAY. OTHERWISE SURFACE WINDS AWAY FROM THUNDERSTORMS WILL GENERALLY BE LESS THAN 10 KNOTS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...NO FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS AT THIS TIME. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 1033 AM MST SAT JUL 24 2010 AZZ019-029>035-250700- 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- 1033 AM MST SAT JUL 24 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT EXTREMELY MOIST ATMOSPHERE REMAINS IN PLACE OVER ALL OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. EXPECT SLOW MOVING HEAVY RAINFALL PRODUCING THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP OVER MUCH OF THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON. ISOLATED STRONG WIND GUSTS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE STRONGER STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AN ACTIVE MONSOON PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH HEAVY RAIN THE MAIN THREAT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 608 PM MST SAT JUL 24 2010 AZZ029-250230- SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY AZ- 608 PM MST SAT JUL 24 2010 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY UNTIL 730 PM MST... AT 6 PM MST STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAD GENERATED AN OUTFLOW WITH BLOWING DUST PUSHING THROUGH PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY. EXPECT VISIBILITIES TO BE REDUCED TO 1 MILE AT TIMES WITH LOCALIZED BRIEFLY LOWER VISIBILITIES POSSIBLE. AREAS AFFECTED INCLUDE...ELOY...RED ROCK...PICACHO PEAK...PICACHO AND FRIENDLY CORNERS. BLOWING DUST CAN QUICKLY REDUCE VISIBILITY...CAUSING ACCIDENTS THAT MAY INVOLVE CHAIN COLLISIONS AND MULTIPLE PILEUPS. IF DENSE DUST IS OBSERVED BLOWING ACROSS A ROADWAY...PULL YOUR VEHICLE OFF THE PAVEMENT AS FAR AS POSSIBLE TO STOP. TURN OFF THE LIGHTS...SET THE EMERGENCY BRAKE...AND TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE BRAKE PEDAL TO ENSURE BRAKE LIGHTS ARE NOT ILLUMINATED LAT...LON 3304 11122 3252 11124 3252 11164 3270 11170 MEYER
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:38 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter reported two chain link fence support poles were downed by thunderstorm winds.
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: 235278.