Arizona, 2012Drought in Arizona, May 1 to 31, 2012
May 1 to 31, 2012 · NWS TWC · 3 events in 3 counties and zones
Another month of well below normal rainfall resulted in continued extreme drought conditions across portions of south central Arizona in May.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
Another month of well below normal rainfall resulted in continued extreme drought conditions across portions of south central Arizona in May.
What forecasters said that day
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 Apr 30, 9:27 PM MST, 2 hours 33 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 9:27 PM MST, 2 hours 33 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
927 PM MST MON APR 30 2012
.SYNOPSIS...DRY CONDITIONS WITH SEASONABLY WARM DAYTIME TEMPERATURES
WILL PREVAIL THIS WEEK. BREEZY TO LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL
OCCUR EAST OF TUCSON TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.
&&
.DISCUSSION...SATELLITE IMAGERY WAS SHOWING A FEW HIGH CLOUDS
APPROACHING SOUTHEAST ARIZONA LATE THIS EVENING. OTHERWISE...STILL
LOOKING AT MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES FOR THE TIME BEING. EXPECT THESE
CLOUDS TO PASS THROUGH LATER TONIGHT AND TUESDAY AS A SYSTEM PASSES
WELL NORTH OF THE AREA. CURRENT FORECAST LOOKED ON TRACK WITH
AFTERNOON WINDS PICKING UP TUESDAY AND MORE SO ON WEDNESDAY. NO
UPDATES THIS EVENING.
&&
.AVIATION...SKC-FEW CLOUDS AT OR ABOVE 20K FT AGL THRU TUESDAY
AFTERNOON OR 02/00Z. SURFACE WIND GENERALLY LESS THAN 10 KTS THRU
TUESDAY MORNING...THEN SURFACE WIND WLY/SWLY 12-22 KTS WITH GUSTS TO
30 KTS TUESDAY AFTERNOON. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF
AMENDMENTS.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...DRY CONDITIONS WITH SEASONABLY WARM DAYTIME
TEMPERATURES WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THIS WEEKEND. NORMAL DIURNAL WIND
TRENDS WILL OCCUR FROM TUCSON WESTWARD DURING MUCH OF THIS WORK
WEEK...WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS DUE TO
DAYTIME HEATING. BREEZY TO LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR
TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS GREENLEE...GRAHAM
AND COCHISE COUNTIES EAST OF TUCSON. AT THIS TIME APPEARS THAT RED
FLAG CRITERIA MAY BRIEFLY OCCUR TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON NEAR THE NEW MEXICO BORDER. GIVEN THE LIMITED COVERAGE...
HAVE OPTED TO NOT ISSUE A FIRE WEATHER WATCH NOR A RED FLAG WARNING
AT THIS TIME. FIELD CREWS ARE ENCOURAGED TO MONITOR SUBSEQUENT
FORECASTS. A DEEPENING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST AND NORTHERN ROCKIES MAY BRING SOME BREEZINESS TO MORE OF
THE AREA THIS WEEKEND.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION...WLY FLOW ALOFT WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THUR. CLEAR
SKIES TONIGHT AND TUE THEN MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES TUE NIGHT-THUR AS SOME
HIGH-LEVEL CLOUDS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE EWD ACROSS SE AZ.
ALSO...BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR ACROSS ERN SECTIONS TUE
AND WED DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. FLOW ALOFT TO BECOME SWLY FRI
AND CONTINUE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK IN RESPONSE TO A DEEPENING LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE PACIFIC NW/NRN ROCKIES/GREAT BASIN REGION.
DRY CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST TO CONTINUE FRI-MON WITH SOME HIGH-LEVEL
CLOUDINESS TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA. HIGH TEMPS TUE-THUR WILL AVERAGE
ABOUT 5 DEGS F OR SO ABOVE NORMAL. SLIGHTLY WARMER DAYTIME TEMPS ARE
ON TAP FRI-SUN FOLLOWED BY A FEW DEGS OF COOLING MON.
&&
.TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.
WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
Drought, Tohono O Odham Nation
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM MST to May 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Tohono O Odham Nation forecast zone
- Reported by
- Other Federal Agency
- Coordinates
- 32.501, -111.567 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme drought (D3) continued in portions Pinal County throughout May. The overall D3 area remained unchanged from April. While portions of southeast Arizona near the New Mexico and International Borders received near normal precipitation for May, which is about two to six tenths of an inch depending on elevation, Pinal County received little or no rainfall. Since the impacts of this drought began with the winter of 2010-2011, most have already been mitigated. One notable event that occurred on May 9th saw convective outflow initiate substantial blowing dust that propagated northwest across Tucson as well as Pinal County.
Drought, South Central Pinal County
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM MST to May 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- South Central Pinal County forecast zone
- Reported by
- Other Federal Agency
- Coordinates
- 32.904, -111.345 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme drought (D3) continued in portions Pinal County throughout May. The overall D3 area remained unchanged from April. While portions of southeast Arizona near the New Mexico and International Borders received near normal precipitation for May, which is about two to six tenths of an inch depending on elevation, Pinal County received little or no rainfall. Since the impacts of this drought began with the winter of 2010-2011, most have already been mitigated. One notable event that occurred on May 9th saw convective outflow initiate substantial blowing dust that propagated northwest across Tucson as well as Pinal County.
Drought, Southeast Pinal County
- When
- May 1, 12:00 AM MST to May 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Southeast Pinal County forecast zone
- Reported by
- Other Federal Agency
- Coordinates
- 32.904, -111.345 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme drought (D3) continued in portions Pinal County throughout May. The overall D3 area remained unchanged from April. While portions of southeast Arizona near the New Mexico and International Borders received near normal precipitation for May, which is about two to six tenths of an inch depending on elevation, Pinal County received little or no rainfall. Since the impacts of this drought began with the winter of 2010-2011, most have already been mitigated. One notable event that occurred on May 9th saw convective outflow initiate substantial blowing dust that propagated northwest across Tucson as well as Pinal County.
- Drought
- A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, May 1, 20121 injured · $272,000 · EF2 · 14 events
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 1, 20121 death · $6,000 · 50 kt wind · 3 events
- Drought in Texas, May 1 to 31, 2012$5.0 million · 22 events
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, May 1, 2012$785,000 · EF0 · 32 events
- Hail in Nebraska, May 1, 2012$1.6 million · 1.5 in hail · 12 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 1 to 2, 2012$620,000 · 1 in hail · 21 events
- Tornadoes and Flooding in Indiana, May 1, 2012$73,000 · EF1 · 32 events
- Tornado and Hail in Indiana, May 1, 2012$250,000 · EF1 · 6 events
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Ohio, May 1 to 2, 2012$53,000 · EF0 · 34 events
- Tornadoes and Hail in Illinois, May 1, 2012$33,000 · EF1 · 8 events
- Tornado and Hail in Iowa, May 1, 2012$55,000 · EF0 · 16 events
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Ohio, May 1 to 2, 2012$46,000 · 1.75 in hail · 10 events
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: 374724, 374725, 374726.