An approaching mid to upper level trough combined with elevated moisture from Hurricane Marie to the southwest led to numerous thunderstorms producing heavy rain and flash flooding. The 12Z KTUS sounding was nearly saturated and showed very weak flow through the column up to about 500 mb.
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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 approaching mid to upper level trough combined with elevated moisture from Hurricane Marie to the southwest led to numerous thunderstorms producing heavy rain and flash flooding. The 12Z KTUS sounding was nearly saturated and showed very weak flow through the column up to about 500 mb.
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 26, 2:09 PM MST, 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 209 PM MST TUE AUG 26 2014 .SYNOPSIS...DEEP MOISTURE WILL GENERATE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE EVENING. A PRONOUNCED DRYING TREND IS EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS AS DRY NORTHWESTERLY FLOW OVERSPREADS ARIZONA. && .DISCUSSION...A MID/UPPER LEVEL TROUGH CONTINUES TO TRACK EASTWARD THIS AFTERNOON. DEEP MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY AHEAD OF THE TROUGH IS BEING ENHANCED...WITH WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY BEING OBSERVED ACROSS MUCH OF THE STATE. STRONG DYNAMIC LIFT IS TAKING PLACE OVER NORTHERN ARIZONA AND SOUTHERN UTAH...WITH SOME SIGNIFICANT DEEP CONVECTION TAKING PLACE. THE WEATHER OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA IS BEING DRIVEN BY SURFACE BASED INSTABILITY AND LINGERING DEEP MOISTURE. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING FOR SEVERAL HOURS...AND ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. MOST STORMS HAVE INITIALLY BEEN STUCK ALONG/OVER TERRAIN AREAS. HEAVY RAINFALL HAS BEEN OBSERVED WITH MANY OF THE STORMS. AS THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY PROGRESSES SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO FILL IN MANY LOWER ELEVATION AREAS AS WELL. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 8 PM AND LOCAL FLOODING IS CERTAINLY POSSIBLE. THE TROUGH WILL CONTINUE ITS PROGRESSION OVER ARIZONA TONIGHT INTO EARLY THURSDAY. INITIALLY...THE TROUGH WILL ACT TO DEVELOP CONVECTION OVER THE AREA...ALTHOUGH THE THREAT OF HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION WILL SHIFT NORTHWARD. A MUCH DRIER AIRMASS WILL ADVECT OVER ARIZONA ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE TROUGH BEGINNING AS EARLY AS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THE DRY NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL BE ENHANCED THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK AS A MID/UPPER RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS TO OUR WEST ALONG THE WEST COAST. UNDER THIS REGIME PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL PLUMMET AND TEMPERATURES WILL CREEP UPWARD. LONG RANGE MODELS SHOW LITTLE CHANGE IN THIS OVERALL PATTERN UNTIL PERHAPS THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION... SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHRA/TSRA+ WILL CONTINUE THRU 27/02Z BEFORE TAPERING OFF AND ENDING BY 27/08Z. EXPECT SCT-BKN 6-10KFT AGL AND BKN LAYERS ABOVE WITH LCL MVFR CONDS NEAR STRONGEST TSRA+. AFT 27/08Z CONDS BECOMING FEW-SCT060 WITH SCT-BKN LAYERS ABV 12KFT AGL. SFC WINDS VARIABLE TO 10 KTS...EXCEPT VICINITY TSRA WHERE GUSTS TO 45 MPH ARE POSSIBLE. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER... WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EARLY THIS EVENING WILL TAPER OFF AND END AROUND OR SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT. A DRYING TREND WILL GET STARTED WEDNESDAY WITH MUCH LESS CONVECTION EXPECTED AND SLIGHTLY WARMER TEMPERATURES. THURSDAY THROUGH THE SATURDAY...THE DRYING WILL CONTINUE WITH SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RH LEVELS...WARMER TEMPERATURES AND NO SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED. SUNDAY INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK WILL SEE A BIT OF A MODERATION IN RH LEVELS BUT AT THIS TIME IT IS STILL EXPECTED TO BE DRY AND RATHER WARM. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 8 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR AZZ502>515. && DISCUSSION...CANTIN AVIATION/FIRE WEATHER...CERNIGLIA VISIT US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER...YOUTUBE...AND AT WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 147 PM MST TUE AUG 26 2014 AZZ508-513-262130- DRAGOON/MULE/HUACHUCA AND SANTA RITA MOUNTAINS INCLUDING BISBEE/CANELO HILLS/MADERA CANYON AZ-EASTERN COCHISE COUNTY BELOW 5000 FEET INCLUDING DOUGLAS/WILLCOX AZ- 147 PM MST TUE AUG 26 2014 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL COCHISE COUNTY UNTIL 230 PM MST... AT 130 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 15 MILES SOUTH OF WILLCOX. THIS STORM WAS MOVING SLOWLY TO THE EAST AND NORTHEAST. HAIL UP TO ONE-HALF INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. AREAS AFFECTED BY THIS STORM INCLUDE...COCHISE AND HIGHWAY 191. LAT...LON 3219 10984 3201 10977 3198 10998 3207 11001 TIME...MOT...LOC 2046Z 246DEG 2KT 3206 10992 CANTIN
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 43 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:13 UTC.
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain of up to 1.5 inches in less than one hour lead to areas of flash flooding in the Sierra Vista/Nicksville area. Local streets and low-lying areas became flooded and impassable.
Thunderstorms produced over an inch of rain in less than 30 minutes in Tucson causing extensive street flooding in midtown. Some areas affected include Seneca and Country Club Roads, Grant Road between Swan and Campbell, as well as Tucson Boulevard between Speedway and Grant. A swift water rescue occurred at Fort Lowell Rd at Tucson Blvd for a vehicle stalled in flood waters. Water was up to 2 feet deep in some spots.
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: 540453, 540450.