Arizona, 2013

Flash Flood in Arizona, July 21, 2013

July 21, 2013 · NWS FGZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy rain from thunderstorms produced flash flooding in far east Flagstaff.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$30,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS FGZ wrote it up.

Heavy rain from thunderstorms produced flash flooding in far east Flagstaff.

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 Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 21, 9:50 AM MST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 21, 9:50 AM MST, 1 hour 25 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 21, 9:45 AM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
945 AM MST SUN JUL 21 2013

AZZ004>018-037>040-220800-
WESTERN MOGOLLON RIM-GRAND CANYON COUNTRY-YAVAPAI COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
YAVAPAI COUNTY VALLEYS AND BASINS-OAK CREEK AND SYCAMORE CANYONS-
MARBLE AND GLEN CANYONS-KAIBAB PLATEAU-COCONINO PLATEAU-
NORTHEAST PLATEAU AND MESAS HWY 264 NORTHWARD-
NORTHEAST PLATEAU AND MESAS SOUTH OF HWY 264-
CHINLE VALLEY-CHUSKA MOUNTAINS AND DEFIANCE PLATEAU-
BLACK MESA AREA-LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN COCONINO COUNTY-
LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN NAVAJO COUNTY-
LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN APACHE COUNTY-
EASTERN MOGOLLON RIM-WHITE MOUNTAINS-NORTHERN GILA COUNTY-
945 AM MST SUN JUL 21 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO...NORTHERN
GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM MST TODAY UNTIL 1 AM MST
MONDAY FOR ALL OF NORTHERN ARIZONA...SEE PHXFFAFGZ FOR DETAILS. A
MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL BRING ANOTHER ACTIVE THUNDERSTORM
DAY TO NORTHERN ARIZONA. STORMS WILL INITIATE OVER THE HIGHER
TERRAIN THEN MOVE INTO THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. SOME STORMS MAY PRODUCE
HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. HIGHER THAN NORMAL MOISTURE ACROSS THE
AREA...AS WELL AS RECENT HEAVY RAINS...WILL ENHANCE THE CHANCES OF
FLASH FLOODING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

DAILY CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
MID WEEK. A DRYING TREND MAY DEVELOP TOWARD THE END OF  THE WEEK.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 89 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:15 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Coconino

When
July 21, 11:15 AM MST to 11:45 AM MST
Where
Coconino County, 10 mi N of (Flg)flagstaff Arpt to 10 mi NNE of (Flg)flagstaff Arpt
Cause
Heavy Rain
Property damage
$30,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
35.275, -111.670

Heavy rain from thunderstorms produced flash flooding in far east Flagstaff. Water was covering Highway 89 at Silver Saddle and Campbell Avenue. Water was also flooding trailer park homes.

What these are

Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, July 2013

Sources

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: 473886.