Arizona, 2013Flood in Arizona, September 10 to 11, 2013
September 10 to 11, 2013 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone
A trough of low pressure over southern California drew tropical moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lorena into southern Arizona on September 9th. Precipitable water values near 2 inches contributed to widespread thunderstorms from Tucson westward.
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
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $25,000
- 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.
A trough of low pressure over southern California drew tropical moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lorena into southern Arizona on September 9th. Precipitable water values near 2 inches contributed to widespread thunderstorms from Tucson westward. Heavy rain occurred late on the 9th which led to flooding of Brawley Wash on September 10th in southwest Tuscon.
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 Sep 10, 3:10 AM MST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 10, 3:10 AM MST, 3 hours 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
310 AM MST TUE SEP 10 2013
.SYNOPSIS...ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL PRODUCE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN TODAY. LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS COULD RESULT IN
LOCALIZED RUNOFF PROBLEMS THIS AFTERNOON. A GRADUAL DECREASE IN
MOISTURE WILL THEN LEAD TO REDUCED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY
DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK.
&&
.DISCUSSION...AFTER A SECOND WAVE OF RAINFALL LATE LAST
EVENING...SATELLITE AND RADAR IMAGERY WERE SHOWING A LULL IN THE
SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY EARLY THIS MORNING. THIS LAST WAVE
BROUGHT A SWATH OF .25 TO .50 OF AN INCH OF RAIN TO MOST OF THE
GREATER TUCSON AREA BETWEEN 11PM AND 12AM MST LAST NIGHT. THE RAIN
ALSO LEAD TO SOME MINOR FLOODING OF CITY STREETS AND POOR DRAINAGE
AREAS...ESPECIALLY AROUND CRAYCROFT AND GOLF LINKS ROADS. THIS LULL
IN RAINFALL WILL BE SOMEWHAT TEMPORARY AS ANOTHER IMPULSE ROTATES
THROUGH THE BASE OF THE UPPER LOW OVER SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND
TRACKS OVER SOUTHERN ARIZONA. THIS FEATURE WAS ALREADY CAUSING
THUNDERSTORMS TO FLARE UP SOUTH OF LUKEVILLE ARIZONA IN SONORA
MEXICO. THAT SAID...EXPECTING THIS FEATURE COMBINED WITH SOME
MORNING SUNSHINE TO GIVE WAY TO MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
TODAY. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS WHICH COULD
LEAD TO RUNOFF PROBLEMS...ESPECIALLY IN AREAS THAT ALREADY RECEIVED
DECENT RAINFALL DURING THE PAST 24 TO 36 HOURS. AFTER TODAY...MODELS
GRADUALLY DECREASE MOISTURE ACROSS THE AREA AND THE SUBSEQUENT RAIN
CHANCES. TEMPERATURES WILL BE A FEW DEGREES BELOW NORMAL TODAY BASED
ON THE RAINFALL POTENTIAL. THEREAFTER...THE DRYING TREND WILL RESULT
IN WARMER DAYTIME READINGS WEDNESDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.
&&
.AVIATION...SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHRA AND ISOLD -TSRA WILL OCCUR
THRU THIS EVENING OR 11/03Z...THEN TAPERING OFF INTO WEDNESDAY
MORNING. EXPECT MVFR CIGS/VSBYS AND BRIEF IFR CIGS ASSOCIATED WITH
THE STRONGEST SHRA/TSRA. OTHERWISE...CLOUD DECKS WILL GENERALLY BE
8-12K FT AGL WITH A FEW LOCALES REPORTING CIGS OF BETWEEN 3-6K FT.
SURFACE WIND WILL MOSTLY BE LESS THAN 10 KTS. AVIATION DISCUSSION
NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR TODAY. A DRYING TREND WILL THEN OCCUR FROM
THE WEST TO EAST STARTING WEDNESDAY AND CONTINUING INTO THE WEEKEND.
THE BEST CHANCE FOR RAINFALL BY THE END OF THE WEEK WILL BE ACROSS
GREENLEE...GRAHAM AND COCHISE COUNTIES EAST OF TUCSON. DAYTIME
TEMPERATURES TODAY AND WEDNESDAY WILL BE WELL BELOW NORMAL FOLLOWED
BY MARKEDLY WARMER DAYTIME TEMPERATURES DURING THE LATTER PART OF
THE WEEK AND THIS WEEKEND.
&&
.TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.
&&
VISIT US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER...YOUTUBE...AND AT WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
Flood, Pima
- When
- September 10, 7:00 AM MST to September 11, 12:00 PM MST
- Where
- Pima County, 1.1 mi NW of Three Pts to 3.37 mi NNE of Three Pts
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 32.090, -111.334
During the late evening hours of September 9th, three to four inches of rain fell along the east slopes of the Baboquivari Mountains and northern portions of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge along a 10 mile length of the Altar Wash 20 to 30 miles south of Three Points, Arizona. The flow peaked downstream at Three Points along the Brawley Wash at about 7500 cubic feet per second around 5:00 am MST on September 10th. While this represented a rise of more than six feet, only a small portion of this flow poured over the banks downstream of this gauge, flooding a sub-division with 8 to 12 inches of water. Roads were eventually closed although first responders were able to evacuate residents from ten mobile homes. The residents were unable to return until the following day. Minor damage occurred to several vehicles and mobile homes.
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in New Mexico, September 10 to 17, 20131 death · $11 million · EF0 · 59 events
- Flash Flooding and Debris Flow in Utah, September 10 to 14, 2013$1.2 million · 1 in hail · 16 events
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Arizona, September 10, 2013$230,000 · 3 events
- Flash Flood in Michigan, September 10, 2013$125,000 · 1 event
- Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Arizona, September 10 to 14, 2013$108,000 · 3 events
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, September 10, 2013$55,000 · 70 kt wind · 2 events
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, September 10, 2013$30,000 · 56 kt wind · 1 event
- Drought in Iowa, September 10 to 30, 20138 events
- Drought in Wisconsin, September 10 to 30, 20136 events
- Drought in Texas, September 10 to 23, 20135 events
- Drought in Minnesota, September 10 to 30, 20133 events
- Hail and Damaging Wind in New York, September 10, 2013$5,000 · 50 kt wind · 2 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: 477041.