A mesoscale convective vortex left over from an overnight mesoscale convective system over Sonora, Mexico helped initiate thunderstorms across southern Arizona. Some of these storms were able to produce winds in excess of 60 miles per hour.
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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.
A mesoscale convective vortex left over from an overnight mesoscale convective system over Sonora, Mexico helped initiate thunderstorms across southern Arizona. Some of these storms were able to produce winds in excess of 60 miles per hour.
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 22, 2:04 PM MST, 4 hours 56 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 204 PM MST FRI JUL 22 2011 .SYNOPSIS...EXPECT MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INTO NEXT WEEK. SOME STORMS WILL GENERATE HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. && .DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS A LARGE TROUGH COVERING MUCH OF THE WESTERN STATES WITH A LARGE SWATH OF DRY MID LEVEL AIR ASSOCIATED WITH THE TROUGH THAT EXTENDS FROM THE EASTERN PACIFIC WATERS THROUGH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA AND INTO THE NORTHWEST HALF OF ARIZONA. THE RIDGE CONTINUES OVER THE EASTERN STATES WITH THE RIDGE AXIS EXTENDING WEST THROUGH NEW MEXICO...SRN ARIZONA AND PORTIONS OF BAJA...ALBEIT WEAK THIS FAR WEST. AN INVERTED TROUGH IS CURRENTLY SPINNING OVER NORTHEAST MEXICO AND SOUTHWEST TEXAS...WITH MODELS INDICATING THIS FEATURE TO CONTINUE MOVING WEST ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL MEXICO TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY. VISIBLE IMAGERY SHOWS THE DEBRIS CLOUDS FROM THIS MORNING ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN AREAS ERODING...WITH RADAR MOSAIC DETECTING ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER...MOSTLY SOUTH OF THE BORDER...BUT SOME EXTENDING NORTH INTO PORTIONS OF EXTREME SOUTHWEST COCHISE AND SOUTHEAST SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES. ISOLATED CELLS ALSO OCCURRING OVER THE CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAINS OF EAST CENTRAL COCHISE COUNTY AND IN CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY EAST OF SELLS. ALL OF THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD DRIFT SLOWLY WEST THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH THE STORMS BECOMING ISOLATED TO SCATTERED AS THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING PROGRESSES. MODELS ARE SUGGESTING A CONTINUING SURGE OF MOISTURE UP THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA THROUGH SATURDAY AS DORA APPROACHES THE SOUTHERN TIP OF BAJA. A SURGE OF MOISTURE ALREADY OCCURRED OVERNIGHT OVER SOUTHWEST ARIZONA WITH YUMA REPORTING A DEWPOINT IN THE LOWER 50S AT 12Z BUT INCREASING TO 64 DEGS BY 13Z AS THE WINDS PICKED UP THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS. THE VAD WIND PROFILE FROM THE KYUX RADAR CONTINUES TO SHOW 15 KNOT WINDS FROM THE SURFACE TO 5K FT. IN ADDITION TO THIS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE THE MODELS ARE INDICATING THAT THE MID LEVEL HIGH WILL MOVE OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION RESULTING IN A LONG EASTERLY FETCH FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO THAT WILL TRANSPORT MID LEVEL MOISTURE INTO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST AS WELL. MODEL FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW THE ENTIRE COLUMN NEARLY SATURATED WITH PWATS APPROACHING 1.75 INCHES. THE MID LEVEL WINDS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR ORGANIZED DEVELOPMENT THIS WEEKEND AS STRONG EASTERLY WINDS DEVELOP AS THE HIGH MOVES NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS. THIS WILL ALSO RESULT IN HIGHER RAIN CHANCES FOR THE FAR WESTERN DESERTS AS THE EASTERLY FLOW PUSHES STORMS FARTHER WEST AND LINGERING INTO THE LATE EVENING AND PERHAPS OVERNIGHT HOURS. RAIN CHANCES WILL TAPER OFF BEGINNING TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK...BUT STILL REMAIN IN THE LOW END SCATTERED CATEGORY THROUGH FRIDAY. HIGHS GENERALLY 3 TO 5 DEGS BELOW NORMAL THROUGH WEDNESDAY...THEN NEAR NORMAL LATE NEXT WEEK. LOWS WILL BE 2 TO 4 DEGS ABOVE NORMAL EACH DAY. && .AVIATION...ISOLD-SCT TSRA/SHRA DEVELOPING AND CONTINUING THRU 06Z SATURDAY. MVFR CIGS/VSBYS AND WIND GUSTS TO NEAR 45 KTS IN THE VICINITY OF STRONGER TSRA. PRECIP TO DECREASE IN COVERAGE OF 06Z-12Z SATURDAY. OTHERWISE...CLOUD DECKS AT 8-12K FT AGL AND SURFACE WIND GENERALLY LESS THAN 10 KTS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...AMPLE MOISTURE FOR SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK...BUT THE BEST THREAT FOR PRECIPITATION LIKELY TO OCCUR THIS WEEKEND. STRONG... ERRATIC AND GUSTY WINDS AND LOCALIZED HEAVY RAIN WILL OCCUR WITH THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS. OTHERWISE...WINDS WILL REMAIN LIGHT AND EXHIBIT TYPICAL DIURNAL TRENDS. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 942 AM MST FRI JUL 22 2011 AZZ503>515-230600- UPPER SANTA CRUZ RIVER VALLEY/ALTAR VALLEY-TUCSON METRO AREA- SOUTH CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY-SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY- UPPER SAN PEDRO RIVER VALLEY- EASTERN COCHISE COUNTY BELOW 5000 FEET-UPPER GILA RIVER VALLEY- WHITE MOUNTAINS OF GRAHAM AND GREENLEE COUNTIES- GALIURO AND PINALENO MOUNTAINS-CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAINS- DRAGOON AND MULE AND HUACHUCA AND SANTA RITA MOUNTAINS- CATALINA AND RINCON MOUNTAINS-BABOQUIVARI MOUNTAINS- 942 AM MST FRI JUL 22 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT DEEP MOISTURE ACROSS THE AREA IN COMBINATION WITH DAYTIME HEATING ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA WILL RESULT IN SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME STREET FLOODING AND FLOODING OF AREAS THAT ARE NORMALLY PRONE TO FLOODING. EVEN MODERATE PRECIPITATION OVER THE AREAS SEVERELY BURNED BY WILDFIRES COULD RESULT IN FLASH FLOODING. STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN EXCESS OF 45 TO 50 MPH ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THE STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. THE MAIN THREATS FROM THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE GUSTY WINDS OVER 50 MPH...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. A MORE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN MOISTURE AND THEREFORE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL BE POSSIBLE SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. AZZ501-502-230600- WESTERN PIMA COUNTY-TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION- 942 AM MST FRI JUL 22 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT DEEP MOISTURE ACROSS THE AREA IN COMBINATION WITH DAYTIME HEATING WILL RESULT IN SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AS WELL AS STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN EXCESS OF 45 TO 50 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. THE MAIN THREATS FROM THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE GUSTY WINDS OVER 50 MPH...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. A MORE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN MOISTURE AND THEREFORE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL BE POSSIBLE SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 124 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:58 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds flipped over a trailer home and downed several trees west of Santa Rosa.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, July 2011
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: 329375.