Unseasonably strong high pressure and extremely dry conditions resulted in the hottest temperatures so far in 2012 across southern Arizona. These hot conditions caused two tourists to lose their lives while hiking.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
Unseasonably strong high pressure and extremely dry conditions resulted in the hottest temperatures so far in 2012 across southern Arizona. These hot conditions caused two tourists to lose their lives while hiking.
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 May 19, 9:00 AM MST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 900 AM MST SAT MAY 19 2012 .SYNOPSIS...RELATIVELY MILD TODAY BEFORE HIGH PRESSURE BRINGS HOTTER CONDITIONS EARLY NEXT WEEK. BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS RETURN TO THE AREA NEXT WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY ALONG WILL COOLER TEMPERATURES. && .DISCUSSION...ABUNDANT SUNSHINE PREVAILED ACROSS SOUTHERN ARIZONA. LESS WINDY TODAY WITH HIGHS NEAR NORMAL AS YESTERDAYS SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS. TEMPERATURES REBOUND SUNDAY WITH MUCH WARMER TEMPERATURES MONDAY AND TUESDAY. AT THIS TIME...BASED ON BIAS CORRECTED TEMPS AND 850-700 MB THICKNESS NUMBERS...LOOKS LIKE WE ARE NOT HOT ENOUGH MONDAY AND TUESDAY. MORE ON THIS IN THE AFTERNOON DISCUSSION AS FULL SUITE OF 12Z DATA WILL BE IN...ALONG WITH UPDATED BIASED CORRECTED NUMBERS. && .AVIATION...CLEAR THRU LATE SUNDAY MORNING OR 20/18Z. SURFACE WIND MOSTLY LESS THAN 10 KTS THROUGH LATE THIS MORNING...THEN WLY 12-18 KTS THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY THIS EVENING. WIND THEN BECOMING TERRAIN DRIVEN LESS THAN 10 KTS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...DRY CONDITIONS WITH WARM DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL OCCUR THIS WEEKEND THEN TURNING HOTTER EARLY NEXT WEEK. EXPECT NORMAL DIURNAL WIND TRENDS TODAY THROUGH MONDAY...WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS DUE TO DAYTIME HEATING. THEREAFTER...BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...BUT ESPECIALLY WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AS A TROUGH DEEPENS OVER THE WESTERN STATES. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
A 23-year-old female tourist died from heat exhaustion/heat stroke while hiking in the Tortolita Mountains with family. The high temperature at Tucson was 93 degrees. She was pronounced dead at 130 pm.
A 35-year-old female tourist from Germany died rom heat exhaustion/heat stroke at 200 pm while hiking in Saguaro National Park West. The high temperature in Tucson was 105 degrees.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, Tucson Metro Area | 2012-05-19 | 23 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Heat, Tucson Metro Area | 2012-05-21 | 35 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
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, May 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: 372666, 372667.