An upper level low was located off the central California coast. 7 inches of precipitable water.
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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.
An upper level low was located off the central California coast. A short wave moved northeast across southeast Arizona and acted on very moist air consisting of 1.7 inches of precipitable water. Thunderstorms produced very heavy rain and flash flooding.
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 Aug 19, 9:00 AM MST, 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 900 AM MST TUE AUG 19 2014 .SYNOPSIS...ABUNDANT MOISTURE COMBINED WITH AN APPROACHING UPPER LOW WILL GENERATE NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY EAST OF THE TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. A SLIGHTLY DRIER ATMOSPHERE AND LESS FORCING WILL ALLOW FOR A MORE TYPICAL AMOUNT OF CONVECTION THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK WITH A VERY MODEST DRYING TREND INTO THIS WEEKEND. BELOW NORMAL DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THURSDAY FOLLOWED BY A GRADUAL WARMING TREND LATER THIS WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...AN UPPER LOW CURRENTLY OFF THE CENTRAL COAST OF CALIFORNIA IS DROPPING SOUTHEAST WITH A LOBE OF ENERGY APPROACHING YUMA THIS MORNING. THE MORNING SOUNDING WAS RATHER WET WITH A PW NEAR 1.7 AND UNSTABLE WITH AN LI OF -5...BASICALLY PRIMED. THE LOBE OF ENERGY NEAR YUMA IS FOCUSING THE LIFT ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN AZ AT THIS TIME AND THAT IS WHERE ABUNDANT CONVECTION IS ALREADY IN PLACE. WE ARE AT THE TAIL END OF THIS ENERGY...ENOUGH THAT CONVECTION HAS ALREADY DEVELOPED OVER THE CATALINAS AND RINCONS BUT WILL NEED TO WAIT A FEW MORE HOURS FOR THE LOW TO MOVE CLOSER AND HEATING TO KICK IN FOR SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT TODAY. STORM MOTION TODAY WILL BE TO THE NORTHEAST. WHILE STRONG WINDS ARE ALWAYS A THREAT WITH THUNDERSTORMS THE PRIMARY CONCERN TODAY IS HEAVY RAIN AND THE POTENTIAL FOR RUNOFF/FLOODING PROBLEMS. SOUTHEAST ARIZONA HAS BEEN PRIMED THE LAST WEEK WITH AREAS OF HEAVY RAIN SO SOME AREAS WILL RESPOND QUICKLY TO ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN. CASE IN POINT...HEAVY RAIN LAST NIGHT OVER THE RINCONS AND SOUTHEAST CATALINAS RESULTED IN HIGH FLOWS IN THE WASHES WITH 3 ROADS AROUND THE METRO AREA CURRENTLY CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER. AS A RESULT OF THESE CONCERNS A FLASH FLOOD WATCH WAS ISSUED ON THE NIGHT SHIFT AND THAT LOOKS GOOD AT THIS POINT. AS THE DAY PROGRESSES AND CONVECTION DEVELOPS...REFER TO THE LATEST STATEMENTS AND WARNINGS TO KEEP UP WITH WHERE FLOODING IS A THREAT. AS THE UPPER LOW CONTINUES TO APPROACH THE REGION IT WILL PUSH SOME DRIER AIR IN OVERNIGHT FROM THE WEST BEHIND THE MAIN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WHICH WILL RESULT IN A DECREASE IN THE CONVECTION ACROSS THE REGION FROM WEST TO EAST. AS A RESULT OF THE DRIER AIR MOVING IN ALOFT AND LIMITED FORCING...THERE WILL BE LESS AREAL COVERAGE OF STORMS ON WEDNESDAY...BUT THANKS TO PLENTY OF NEAR SURFACE MOISTURE IT SHOULD REMAIN SOMEWHAT ACTIVE. OPERATIONAL MODELS STILL HAVING ISSUES ON WHEN THE SRN CA UPPER LOW WILL LIFT THRU THE STATE...ALTHOUGH AT THIS POINT I AM LEANING TOWARD THE SLOWER SOLUTIONS WHICH WOULD BE THE ECMWF/NAM WHICH PUSHES THE SYSTEM THROUGH SOMETIME FRIDAY. THE FASTER GFS IS SLOWING THE SYSTEM WITH EACH RUN AND THIS MORNINGS 12Z RUN LOOKING EVEN MORE LIKE THE OTHER TWO. THIS WOULD MEAN DECENT ACTIVITY AGAIN THURSDAY INTO EARLY FRI. ALL THIS CONVECTION AND MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN BELOW NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY...THEN WITH LESS CONVECTION AND DRIER CONDITIONS TEMPS SHOULD RISE TO MORE NORMAL LEVELS THEREAFTER. CERNIGLIA && .AVIATION...VALID THRU 20/18Z. EXPECT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING LATE THIS MORNING OR EARLY AFTERNOON...THEN PERSISTING INTO THE EVENING HOURS TONIGHT. MVFR VISIBILITIES AND WIND GUSTS OF 45-50 KTS WILL OCCUR WITH THE STRONGER TSRA. CLOUD DECKS WILL MAINLY BE AT 6-12K FT AGL. OUTSIDE OF THUNDERSTORM OUTFLOWS...SURFACE WIND WILL GENERALLY BE LESS THAN 10 KTS THRU WEDNESDAY MORNING. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS AMPLE MOISTURE REMAINS ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA. WITH THE ABUNDANT MOISTURE IN PLACE...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RUNOFF/FLOODING PROBLEMS. ALSO THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE STRONG...GUSTY AND ERRATIC WINDS. EXPECT SOMEWHAT LESS COVERAGE OF THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK AND NEXT WEEK. HOWEVER...MOISTURE WILL BE SUFFICIENT FOR ISOLATED TO SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS. OUTSIDE OF THE THUNDERSTORM OUTFLOWS...20-FOOT WINDS WILL EXHIBIT NORMAL DIURNAL TRENDS AND WILL BE MOSTLY LESS THAN 15 MPH. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH TODAY FROM 12 NOON UNTIL 11 PM FOR MOST OF SE AZ. && VISIT US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER...YOUTUBE...AND AT WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 43 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:28 UTC.
3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash flooding occurred along and near the Babocamari River north of Huachuca City in the Presidential Estates area. A woman and three dogs were rescued from a mini-van which was submerged in 3 feet of water on Bowers Road.
Heavy rain caused significant street flooding on Tucson's east side. A woman was rescued from her sedan in flood waters 1 to 2 feet deep at Broadway Blvd and Camino Seco.
Multiple reports of a car stuck on Sahuarita Road west of Houghton due to flash flooding were relayed via Twitter. Pima County Sheriff's office later confirmed that Sahuarita Road was impassable in multiple locations due to water over the roadway. Rainfall amounts of between 0.75 and 1 inch fell in 30 minutes.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, August 2014
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: 541416, 541419, 540222.