Showers and thunderstorms produced strong winds across Arizona. These strong winds interacted with very dry soils resulting in isolated dust storms.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
Showers and thunderstorms produced strong winds across Arizona. These strong winds interacted with very dry soils resulting in isolated dust storms.
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 Sep 27, 1:40 PM MST, 41 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 140 PM MST TUE SEP 27 2011 .SYNOPSIS...INCREASED MOISTURE AND AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ALOFT WILL RESULT IN ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. THERE WILL BE CONTINUE TO BE ADEQUATE MOISTURE FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THEREAFTER...A WEAKENING TROPICAL SYSTEM WILL HELP BRING DEEPER MOISTURE AND A MARKED INCREASE IN SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY BY THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...ITS SHAPING UP TO BE A FAIRLY ACTIVE AFTERNOON ACROSS SOUTHEAST ARIZONA AS CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT REALLY GOT GOING ACROSS THE AREA MAINLY FROM WESTERN COCHISE COUNTY WESTWARD TO CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF HOURS. WE'VE HAD A REPORT OF SMALL HAIL AND ONE INCH OF RAINFALL IN THE CORONA DE TUCSON AREA. THIS IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ALOFT ACROSS NORTHERN SONORA PROVIDING LIFT AND INCREASED INSTABILITY WORKING IN TANDEM WITH INCREASED MOISTURE ACROSS THE AREA WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES NEAR ONE INCH. THESE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE TOWARDS THE WEST-NORTHWEST AT ABOUT 10 MPH WITH THE MAIN THREATS BEING SMALL HAIL...GUSTY WINDS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD TAPER OFF AFTER SUNSET WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING. THE AFOREMENTIONED UPPER LOW WILL MORE OR LESS WEAKEN INTO A SHEAR AXIS ACROSS NORTHERN MEXICO OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS UPPER LEVEL RIDGING STRENGTHENS ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN TOWARDS THE FOUR CORNERS. THERE WILL STILL BE ADEQUATE MOISTURE ACROSS THE REGION FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING BUT ACTIVITY SHOULD BE LESS PRONOUNCED THAN TODAY. HEADING LATER THIS WEEK AND THROUGH THIS WEEKEND THE MAIN FOCUS WILL BE HURRICANE HILARY. THIS HURRICANE IS FORECAST TO TRACK NORTHWARD WHILE LOCATED TO THE WEST OF THE BAJA PENINSULA AND WEAKEN MARKEDLY AS IT MOVES NORTH INTO COOLER WATERS AND A MORE HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT. THERE CONTINUE TO BE SOME DIFFERENCES REGARDING THE EVOLUTION OF THE WEAKENING MID LEVEL REMNANTS OF HILARY AND THE INTERACTION WITH A LARGER SCALE TROUGH MOVING IN FROM THE EASTERN PACIFIC LATER THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KEEP A FOCUS ON WILL BE THE POTENTIAL IMPORTATION OF DEEPER MOISTURE INTO SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FROM SOUTHERLY FLOW ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE DYING TROPICAL SYSTEM AND NOT NECESSARILY THE SPECIFIC LOCATION OF THE WEAK REMNANTS. WITH THAT SAID...MADE ONLY MINOR TWEAKS TO THE ONGOING FORECAST FOR THIS FORECAST PACKAGE WITH POPS STARTING TO INCREASE FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT WITH THE HIGHEST POPS WHICH ARE IN THE 30 TO 50 PERCENT RANGE THIS WEEKEND BEFORE DECREASING EARLY NEXT WEEK. STILL PLENTY OF TIME TO HONE IN ON THE DETAILS AS CONFIDENCE INCREASES OVER THE NEXT COUPLE FEW DAYS. && .AVIATION....ISOLD-SCT TSRA/SHRA WITH CLD BASES 5-8K FT AGL THRU 03Z WEDNESDAY...MVFR CIGS/VSBYS AND WIND GUSTS TO NEAR 45 KTS WITH THE STRONGER TSRA. BETWEEN 03Z-06Z WEDNESDAY...DIMINISHING PCPN CHANCES AND SCT-BKN CLD BASES AT 8-12K FT AGL. AFT 06Z WEDNESDAY...FEW-SCT CLDS AT 10-14K FT AGL. SFC WND GENERALLY LESS THAN 10 KTS EXCEPT FOR GUSTY WINDS NEAR THUNDERSTORM OUTFLOWS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED THROUGH THURSDAY...MAINLY ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA. MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH REMNANTS OF HURRICANE HILARY WILL OVERSPREAD THE REGION THIS WEEKEND...RESULTING IN INCREASING PRECIPITATION CHANCES. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT AND DIURNALLY DRIVEN THIS WEEK. HOWEVER...WIND SPEEDS WILL PICKUP A BIT OVER THE WEEKEND. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 1043 AM MST TUE SEP 27 2011 AZZ501>515-280700- WESTERN PIMA COUNTY-TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION- 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- 1043 AM MST TUE SEP 27 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ESPECIALLY FROM THE TUCSON AREA SOUTH AND EASTWARD THIS AFTERNOON. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE BRIEF RAINFALL AND GUSTY WINDS UP TO 50 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHWOERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THEREAFTER...MOISTURE FROM THE REMNANTS OF HURRICANE HILLARY ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE ACROSS SOUTHEAST ARIZONA WITH MORE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 36 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:22 UTC.
1 lightning, 1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a palm tree in the 3400 block of South Camino Seco in Tucson igniting the tree. Debris then fell onto a mobile home, setting the home on fire. The occupants were able to safely escape. Only minor damage was reported to the roof of the home.
Strong thunderstorm winds kicked up an area of dust along Interstate 10 near Picacho Peak, dropping visibility to near zero. One driver slowed enough to cause a tractor trailer to rear end the vehicle setting off a 13 vehicle accident. In all there were 12 injuries with 5 people being transported to local hospitals.
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, September 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: 347664, 347659.