A moist southeast flow of air resulted in widespread thunderstorms across southeast Arizona. Some of these storms produced damaging winds and heavy rain.
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.
A moist southeast flow of air resulted in widespread thunderstorms across southeast Arizona. Some of these storms produced damaging winds and heavy rain. Thunderstorm outflows eventually produced a dust storm or haboob in central Pinal County that tracked northwest to Phoenix.
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 21, 9:00 AM MST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 900 AM MST SAT JUL 21 2012 .SYNOPSIS...PLENTY OF MOISTURE FOR MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INTO NEXT WEEK. SOME STORMS WILL GENERATE HEAVY RAINFALL. && .DISCUSSION...PRETTY WET THIS MORNING WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES AROUND 1.6 TO 1.7 (OVER 140 PERCENT OF CLIMO EVEN FOR LATE JULY) AND SURFACE DEWPTS SOLIDLY IN THE 60S (UP 3 OR 4 DEGREES IN THE PAST 24 HOURS). LOTS OF DEBRIS OVERNIGHT BUT ALREADY SEEING STRONG SOLAR INSOLATION IN WESTERN AREAS WITH RAPIDLY DECREASING CLOUD COVER ELSEWHERE. EXPECT MID TO LATE MORNING DEVELOPMENT A COUPLE OF HOURS AHEAD OF NORMAL DIURNAL TRENDS...WITH A RATHER BUSY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. MODEST ADJUSTMENTS IN FIRST AND EARLY SECOND PERIOD TRENDS BASED ON PROMISING 12Z KTWC SOUNDING AS WELL AS EARLY NAM12 DATA. GENERALLY INCREASED POP COVERAGE AND QPF AMOUNTS...ESPECIALLY IN MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS. BOTTOM LINE IS FLOW IS BRISK ENOUGH ALONG WITH EASTERLY WAVE INFLUENCE FOR ANOTHER BUSY DAY...MAYBE BUSIER. && .PREV DISCUSSION...MOISTURE WILL MORE OR LESS REMAIN IN PLACE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK AS THE INVERTED TROUGH CONTINUES TO MOVE TO THE WEST TOWARDS THE CO RIVER VALLEY. THIS WILL RESULT IN NEAR OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE CLIMO POPS THROUGH MONDAY. THEREAFTER...THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT DRYING TREND. THERE REMAIN SOME DISCREPANCIES AMONGST THE MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE JUST HOW MUCH DRYING BUT WE SHOULD SEE A LOWER GRADE MONSOON PATTERN BY MID TO LATE NEXT WEEK WITH THE BEST MOISTURE PLUME SHIFTING EAST AS HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT TRIES TO BUILD IN. && .AVIATION...SCT TSRA/SHRA DEVELOPING AGAIN LATER THIS MORNING WITH THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS NEAR 40KTS AND SCT-BKN 060 CONTINUING INTO EVENING HOURS OR 22/04Z. DECREASING SHOWERS AND DEBRIS CLOUD LATE NIGHT. OUTSIDE OF THUNDERSTORM OUTFLOWS SURFACE WIND GENERALLY LESS THAN 10 KTS THRU SUNDAY MORNING OR 22/16Z. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...EXPECT PLENTY OF MOISTURE WITH SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS INTO NEXT WEEK. && .CLIMATE...THE TOTAL RAINFALL AT THE TUCSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FRIDAY WAS 0.56". THUS THE MONSOON RAINFALL TOTAL IS UP TO 4.41"...WHICH RANKS AS THE 2ND WETTEST MONSOON TO DATE. THE TOTAL FOR JULY IS UP TO 4.07" WHICH RANKS AS 2ND WETTEST TO DATE AND 12TH WETTEST FOR ENTIRE MONTH OF JULY. LASTLY...THE 2012 TOTAL IS UP TO 5.09" WHICH TIES FOR THE 34TH WETTEST TO DATE. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 750 AM MST SAT JUL 21 2012 AZZ501>515-221500- 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- 750 AM MST SAT JUL 21 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT EXPECT NUMEROUS MOUNTAIN TO SCATTERED VALLEY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN TODAY. SOME STORMS WILL GENERATE HEAVY RAIN WITH FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE. THE STRONGEST STORMS MAY GENERATE WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH AND SMALL HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INTO MONDAY. THEN EXPECT A GRADUAL DECLINE IN AREAL COVERAGE OF STORMS THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK AS DRIER AIR PUSHES IN ACROSS THE AREA. .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 1249 PM MST SAT JUL 21 2012 AZZ503-504-513-212030- DRAGOON/MULE/HUACHUCA AND SANTA RITA MOUNTAINS INCLUDING BISBEE/CANELO HILLS/MADERA CANYON AZ-TUCSON METRO AREA INCLUDING TUCSON/GREEN VALLEY/MARANA/VAIL AZ-UPPER SANTA CRUZ RIVER AND ALTAR VALLEYS INCLUDING NOGALES AZ- 1249 PM MST SAT JUL 21 2012 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHEASTERN PIMA AND NORTHERN SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES UNTIL 130 PM MST... AT 1245 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES NORTHEAST OF TUBAC...OR 10 MILES SOUTH OF GREEN VALLEY...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 10 TO 15 MPH. HAIL UP TO ONE-HALF INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN. AREAS AFFECTED BY THIS STORM INCLUDE...GREEN VALLEY...AMADO AND ARIVACA JUNCTION. LAT...LON 3161 11124 3192 11105 3176 11089 3159 11097 TIME...MOT...LOC 1949Z 113DEG 13KT 3171 11103 MEYER
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 46 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:07 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds uprooted a tree in Amado.
Thunderstorm winds blew down a tree in Rancho Sahuarita.
Houghton Road and Wentworth Road were both closed near Andrada Road due to flash flooding.
Thunderstorm winds blew down a tree at East Shoreline Drive and North Sabino Canyon Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, July 2012
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: 404533, 404534, 404554, 404535.