A trough of low pressure over southern California drew tropical moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lorena into southern Arizona. Precipitable water values near 2 inches contributed to widespread thunderstorms from Tucson westward but isolated storms occurred to the east of Tucson, one of which produced a funnel cloud.
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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.
A trough of low pressure over southern California drew tropical moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lorena into southern Arizona. Precipitable water values near 2 inches contributed to widespread thunderstorms from Tucson westward but isolated storms occurred to the east of Tucson, one of which produced a funnel cloud.
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 9, 8:47 AM MST, 4 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 847 MST MON SEP 9 2013 .SYNOPSIS...ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL PRODUCE SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TUESDAY. HEAVY DOWNPOURS COULD RESULT IN LOCALIZED RUNOFF PROBLEMS...ESPECIALLY LATE TODAY INTO EARLY TUESDAY. A GRADUAL DECREASE IN MOISTURE WILL THEN LEAD TO REDUCED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...SATELLITE WATER VAPOR SHOWS TWO EMBEDDED IMPULSES. THE FIRST ONE IS EDGING ITS WAY THRU THE AREA THIS MORNING RESULTING IN THE LIGHT SHOWERS SCATTERED ACROSS THE SERN AZ. THESE SHOWERS HAVE ALLOWED A FEW DEGREE COOLER START TO THE DAY THAN FORECAST ACROSS MOST LOCATIONS. WITH THIS IN MIND HAVE DECREASED MAX TEMPS ACROSS MOST AREAS AS BKN-OVC SKIES EXPECTED THROUGHOUT THE DAY. THE SECOND IMPULSE IS LOCATED ACROSS SRN SONORA. THIS ONE WILL LIKELY INCREASE AREAL COVERAGE OF SHOWERS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE ERN ZONES. POINT PROG SOUNDINGS ACROSS THE AREA SHOW LIMITED INSTABILITY ACROSS MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA. MUCH LIKE THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS THERE REMAINS SLIGHTLY MORE INSTABILITY ACROSS THE ERN AND FAR WRN ZONES. COMBINE THIS WITH THE LACK OF HEATING AND ISOLD THUNDER WILL BE THE BEST LIKELIHOOD FOR MOST OF THE AREA. LASTLY...OUTSIDE OF AREAS SHORT LIVED MODERATE TO HEAVY SHOWERS FROM THE AFOREMENTIONED IMPULSES SHOWERS SHOULD REMAIN LIGHT ENOUGH TO KEEP FLASH FLOOD CONCERNS AT BAY...MINUS ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF COCHISE...GREENLEE AND ERN GRAHAM COUNTIES. STILL...CONFIDENCE IN WIDE SPREAD HEAVY RAIN TO LOW TO WARRANT A FLASH FLOOD/FLOOD WATCH AT THIS TIME. && .AVIATION...NUMEROUS SHRA AND ISOLD -TSRA THRU EARLY TUESDAY MORNING OR 10/12Z. EXPECT MVFR CIGS/VSBYS AND BRIEF IFR CIGS ASSOCIATED WITH THE HEAVIEST SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. OTHERWISE...CLOUD DECKS WILL GENERALLY BE 7-12K FT AGL AND SURFACE WIND WILL MAINLY BE ELY/SELY 5-15 KTS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR THROUGH TUESDAY. A DRYING TREND WILL THEN OCCUR FROM THE WEST TO EAST STARTING WEDNESDAY AND CONTINUING INTO THE WEEKEND. THE BEST CHANCE FOR MEASURABLE RAINFALL BY THE END OF THE WEEK WILL BE ACROSS GREENLEE...GRAHAM AND COCHISE COUNTIES EAST OF TUCSON. DAYTIME TEMPERATURES TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WILL BE WELL BELOW NORMAL FOLLOWED BY MARKEDLY WARMER DAYTIME TEMPERATURES DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK AND THIS WEEKEND. && .PREV DISCUSSION...DEEP MOISTURE IN PLACE WILL INTERACT WITH A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE REGION RESULTING IN WIDESPREAD RAINFALL THROUGH TUESDAY. THE LATEST MODELS...ESPECIALLY THE GFS...SUGGESTED THAT THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL WILL BE ACROSS EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE CWA LATER THIS EVENING INTO EARLY TUESDAY. THE EXCESSIVE RAINFALL OUTLOOK PRODUCED BY THE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER FOR TODAY INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY ALSO HIGHLIGHTED EASTERN ARIZONA AS A THREAT AREA. A WEAK IMPULSE EMBEDDED IN THE SOUTHERN FLOW IN ADVANCE OF THE UPPER LOW WAS TRIGGERING SHOWERS ACROSS THE AREA EARLY THIS MORNING. THIS FEATURE WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK NORTHWARD TODAY...WITH ANOTHER IMPULSE OVER SOUTHERN SONORA MEXICO PROGGED TO MOVE THROUGH LATER THIS EVENING. THIS NEXT IMPULSE SHOULD PROVIDE THE SUPPORT FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT INTO EARLY TUESDAY WHICH COULD LEAD TO RUNOFF PROBLEMS. BASED ON THE TIMING OF THE HEAVIER RAINFALL...WILL DEFER THE POSSIBILITY OF POSTING A FLASH FLOOD WATCH TO LATER SHIFTS. AFTER TUESDAY...MODELS GRADUALLY DECREASE MOISTURE ACROSS THE AREA AND THE SUBSEQUENT RAIN CHANCES DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK. TEMPERATURES WILL BE WELL BELOW NORMAL TODAY AND TUESDAY WITH THE CLOUDY SKIES AND RAINFALL POTENTIAL. A DRYING AIRMASS...HOWEVER...WILL RESULT IN A WARMING TREND WEDNESDAY INTO THE WEEKEND. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && VISIT US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER...YOUTUBE...AND AT WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 24 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:54 UTC.
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
A funnel cloud was observed and photographed by a member of the media northeast of Mescal.
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: 477044.