Arizona, 2013

Drought in Arizona, June 1 to 30, 2013

June 1 to 30, 2013 · NWS TWC · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

The area of extreme drought (D3) conditions persisted across southeast Arizona during June. Modest rain fell on the western perimeter of this area in mid June.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

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 TWC wrote it up.

The area of extreme drought (D3) conditions persisted across southeast Arizona during June. Modest rain fell on the western perimeter of this area in mid June.

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 May 31, 8:53 PM MST, 3 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 8:53 PM MST, 3 hours 7 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
853 PM MST FRI MAY 31 2013

.SYNOPSIS...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BRING DRY CONDITIONS WITH WELL
ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY AND 01/00Z UPPER-AIR PLOTS SHOW
RIDGING BUILDING IN FROM THE WEST FOR A HOT WEEKEND. STILL BARELY
MISSED HITTING THAT FIRST ELUSIVE 100 DEGREE MARK THIS AFTERNOON...
WITH THE HIGH TEMPERATURE AT THE TUCSON INTL AIRPORT ONLY TOPPING
OUT AT 99 DEGS FOR TODAY. HOWEVER...WE SHOULDN'T HAVE ANY TROUBLE
BREAKING THAT 100 DEGREE MARK OVER THE WEEKEND...WITH READINGS
EXPECTED TO EASILY RISE SEVERAL DEGREES ABOVE 100 FOR BOTH SATURDAY
AND SUNDAY AND CONTINUING ABOVE 100 DEGS EACH DAY THROUGH NEXT WEEK.

AS OF 03Z (8 PM MST)...TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION RANGED FROM
THE LOWER 80S TO THE LOWER 90S WITH THE TUCSON INTL AIRPORT
REPORTING A TEMP OF 91 DEGS. THE CURRENT READINGS ARE ON TRACK AND
NO CHANGES ARE PLANNED AT THIS TIME.

FOR DETAILS REGARDING THE FORECAST BEYOND TONIGHT...PLEASE REFER TO
THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION BELOW.

&&

.AVIATION...SKC THRU SATURDAY EVENING OR 02/06Z. SURFACE WIND
GENERALLY LESS THAN 10 KTS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF
AMENDMENTS.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...DRY CONDITIONS WITH WELL ABOVE NORMAL DAYTIME
TEMPERATURES WILL PREVAIL INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. DAYTIME
MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL GENERALLY BE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS
TO LOWER TEENS WITH FAIR TO POOR OVERNIGHT RECOVERIES. NORMAL
DIURNAL WIND TRENDS WILL OCCUR...WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS DURING THE
AFTERNOON HOURS DUE TO STRONG DAYTIME HEATING.

&&

.CLIMATE...MAY 2013 GOES INTO THE RECORD BOOKS AS THE 10TH WARMEST ON
RECORD FOR TUCSON...WHILE SPRING 2013 GOES INTO THE RECORDS BOOKS AS
2ND WARMEST ON RECORD.

&&

.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...THE SHALLOW MOISTURE THAT WAS ACROSS THE AREA
THIS MORNING HAS MIXED OUT THIS AFTERNOON. A FEW CUMULUS CLOUDS ARE
SEEN ON VISIBLE IMAGERY UP IN THE WHITES. HAZY CONDITIONS HAVE ALSO
IMPROVED ACROSS THE REGION. EXPECT A WARM NIGHT TO START THE MONTH
OF JUNE.

HOTTEST TEMPERATURES OF 2013 TO DATE ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA
THIS WEEKEND AS UPPER RIDGE BUILDS NORTH INTO THE STATE. MODELS
STILL HINTING AT SOME MID-LEVEL MOISTURE PUSHING WEST ACROSS WESTERN
NEW MEXICO ON SUNDAY. FAR EASTERN AREAS ON THE WESTERN FRINGES OF
THIS MOISTURE. WENT WITH SLIGHT CHANCE OF DRY THUNDERSTORMS IN THE
WHITES ON SUNDAY. STAYING WARM NEXT WEEK WITH SUB-TROPICAL HIGH
CENTERED OVER CENTRAL NEW MEXICO AND AN UPPER LOW OFF SRN CALIFORNIA
COAST. LATE NEXT WEEK MODELS ARE SUGGESTING THAT THIS UPPER LOW WILL
MOVE INTO NORTHERN MEXICO...BRINGING SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES TO
END THE WEEK. WILL HAVE TO WATCH MODEL TRENDS TO SEE IF THIS LOW
TAPS INTO SOME MOISTURE OVER CENTRAL MEXICO AND SPREADS IT NORTH.
PLENTY OF TIME TO FINE TUNE THE FORECAST FOR THIS SYSTEM...IF MODELS
ARE CORRECT.

&&

.TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

VISIT US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER...YOUTUBE...AND AT WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Upper San Pedro River Valley

When
June 1, 12:00 AM MST to June 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Upper San Pedro River Valley forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.109, -110.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme drought (D3) conditions persisted across the southern halves of Graham and Greenlee Counties and the northeast two thirds of Cochise County in June. These dry conditions were exacerbated by very hot temperatures throughout the month. While modest rain fell over western parts of this drought area on the 15th and the 30th, little if any rain occurred elsewhere. The effects of prolonged drought were manifested when the Gila River in Graham County ran dry for the first time in a number of years. Farmers have been relegated to using what little well water remains.

Drought, Eastern Cochise County Below 5000 Feet

When
June 1, 12:00 AM MST to June 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Eastern Cochise County Below 5000 Feet forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
31.880, -109.751 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme drought (D3) conditions persisted across the southern halves of Graham and Greenlee Counties and the northeast two thirds of Cochise County in June. These dry conditions were exacerbated by very hot temperatures throughout the month. While modest rain fell over western parts of this drought area on the 15th and the 30th, little if any rain occurred elsewhere. The effects of prolonged drought were manifested when the Gila River in Graham County ran dry for the first time in a number of years. Farmers have been relegated to using what little well water remains.

Drought, Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys

When
June 1, 12:00 AM MST to June 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
33.074, -109.563 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme drought (D3) conditions persisted across the southern halves of Graham and Greenlee Counties and the northeast two thirds of Cochise County in June. These dry conditions were exacerbated by very hot temperatures throughout the month. While modest rain fell over western parts of this drought area on the 15th and the 30th, little if any rain occurred elsewhere. The effects of prolonged drought were manifested when the Gila River in Graham County ran dry for the first time in a number of years. Farmers have been relegated to using what little well water remains.

Drought, Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains

When
June 1, 12:00 AM MST to June 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.572, -110.328 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme drought (D3) conditions persisted across the southern halves of Graham and Greenlee Counties and the northeast two thirds of Cochise County in June. These dry conditions were exacerbated by very hot temperatures throughout the month. While modest rain fell over western parts of this drought area on the 15th and the 30th, little if any rain occurred elsewhere. The effects of prolonged drought were manifested when the Gila River in Graham County ran dry for the first time in a number of years. Farmers have been relegated to using what little well water remains.

Drought, Chiricahua Mountains

When
June 1, 12:00 AM MST to June 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Chiricahua Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
31.880, -109.751 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme drought (D3) conditions persisted across the southern halves of Graham and Greenlee Counties and the northeast two thirds of Cochise County in June. These dry conditions were exacerbated by very hot temperatures throughout the month. While modest rain fell over western parts of this drought area on the 15th and the 30th, little if any rain occurred elsewhere. The effects of prolonged drought were manifested when the Gila River in Graham County ran dry for the first time in a number of years. Farmers have been relegated to using what little well water remains.

Drought, Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains

When
June 1, 12:00 AM MST to June 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
31.834, -110.796 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme drought (D3) conditions persisted across the southern halves of Graham and Greenlee Counties and the northeast two thirds of Cochise County in June. These dry conditions were exacerbated by very hot temperatures throughout the month. While modest rain fell over western parts of this drought area on the 15th and the 30th, little if any rain occurred elsewhere. The effects of prolonged drought were manifested when the Gila River in Graham County ran dry for the first time in a number of years. Farmers have been relegated to using what little well water remains.

What these are

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.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, June 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: 450439, 453597, 453598, 453599, 453600, 453601.