Upper level low pressure moved rapidly across the Great Basin and southern Rocky Mountains. Scattered thunderstorms moved quickly northeast across parts of southeast Arizona producing gusty winds.
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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.
Upper level low pressure moved rapidly across the Great Basin and southern Rocky Mountains. Scattered thunderstorms moved quickly northeast across parts of southeast Arizona producing gusty winds.
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 22, 9:35 AM MST, 27 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 935 AM MST SUN SEP 22 2013 .SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN TODAY. THERE IS ENOUGH MOISTURE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY FOR THIS UPPER LEVEL TROF TO GENERATE A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. GUSTY WINDS ALSO OCCUR THIS AFTERNOON. THE WESTERLY FLOW BEHIND THIS TROUGH WILL START TO PUSH DRIER AIR ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT AND KNOCK TEMPERATURES BACK TO NEAR OR BELOW AVERAGE FOR THE NEW WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY THIS MORNING PLACED UPPER LOW NEAR LAS VEGAS WITH TROF AXIS EXTENDING SOUTH ALONG CA/AZ BORDER. OUT AHEAD OF THIS TROF AXIS ISOLATED SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS ERN PINAL COUNTY UP INTO GILA COUNTY...MOVING TO THE NE AROUND 25 MPH. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING RANGED FROM 1.05" TO 1.20" WITH SURFACE DEWPOINTS MOSTLY IN THE 50S WITH 40S OUT IN WESTERN PIMA COUNTY. BREEZY TO VERY LOCALIZED WINDY CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON AS PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS AS UPPER LEVEL TROF APPROACHES. HIGHEST WIND GUSTS ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR UP IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS BUT STAY BELOW ADVISORY CRITERIA. BULK OF SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TODAY WILL BE N-NE OF TUCSON. HIGHS TODAY WILL BE 2-4 DEGREES COOLER THAN SATURDAY. A FEW LINGERING STORMS EAST OF TUCSON EARLY THIS EVENING THEN DRIER WESTERLY KICK IN WITH TROF AXIS EAST OF THE STATE AND USHERING INTO COOLER TEMPERATURES...JUST IN TIME FOR ASTRONOMICAL FALL. && .AVIATION...FEW070 SCT-BKN100 WITH ISOLD SHRA/TSRA...MAINLY N AND E OF KTUS.AFT 23/03Z CONDS BECMG SKC FROM W TO E. S-SE WIND 5-12 KTS BECMG SW 10-18 KTS WITH OCNL GUSTS TO 30 KTS AFT 22/17Z. WIND EASING TO W-SW 6-10 KT AFT 23/03Z. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...A STRONG UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL CROSS THE STATE TODAY GENERATING ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY NORTH AND EAST OF TUCSON. THIS SYSTEM WILL ALSO KICK UP A DECENT SW WIND THIS AFTERNOON. THEN MUCH DRIER AIR WILL INVADE THE REGION TONIGHT RESULTING IN DRY WEATHER AND MUCH LOWER HUMIDITY LEVELS MONDAY THROUGH THE COMING WEEK WITH TEMPERATURES DROPPING TO AROUND SEASONAL NORMS. ANOTHER PASSING UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL KICK UP SOUTHWEST BREEZES WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AFTERNOONS BUT IT IS EXPECTED TO PASS BY DRY. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && VISIT US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER...YOUTUBE...AND AT WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
The Phoenix radar (KIWA), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:03 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A thunderstorm wind gust of 64 mph was measured at Horse Camp Canyon RAWS.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, September 2013
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: 478068.