Arizona, 2014

Drought in Arizona, December 1 to 31, 2014

December 1 to 31, 2014 · NWS TWC · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Extreme drought (D3) conditions continued across far eastern Pinal and much of western Graham Counties during December.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS TWC wrote it up.

Extreme drought (D3) conditions continued across far eastern Pinal and much of western Graham Counties during December.

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 Nov 30, 9:00 PM MST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 30, 9:00 PM MST, 3 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
900 PM MST SUN NOV 30 2014

.SYNOPSIS...A COUPLE OF WEAK WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL BRING A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF SHOWERS TO THE AREA TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...AND AGAIN
NEXT WEEKEND. OTHERWISE...DRY CONDITIONS AND ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS.

&&

.DISCUSSION...01/03Z SFC TEMPS RANGED FROM THE UPPER 40S TO LOW 60S
WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HIGHER ELEVATIONS. KTUS WAS REPORTING A
TEMPERATURE OF 61 AFTER REACHING A HIGH OF 76 THIS AFTERNOON. A WEAK
SHORTWAVE TROF WHICH BROUGHT SOME CIRRUS AND ELEVATED WINDS TO
THE AREA TODAY HAS MOVED NORTH AND EAST OF THE REGION LEAVING CLEAR
SKIES IN ITS WAKE. SHORTWAVE RIDGING WILL BUILD IN OVER ARIZONA TO
KICK OFF THE FINAL MONTH OF 2014...WITH CLEAR TO MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES
CONTINUING THRU THE MAJORITY OF THE DAY TOMORROW AND TEMPERATURES
VERY NEAR WHAT WAS OBSERVED TODAY. CLOUD COVER IS THEN EXPECTED TO
INCREASE AHEAD OF A SOMEWHAT STRONGER TROF TOMORROW EVENING AND
TOMORROW NIGHT. INHERITED FORECAST LOOKS TO HANDLE THESE FEATURES
WELL...SO NO UPDATES ARE PLANNED THIS EVENING. PLEASE SEE THE
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION.

&&

.AVIATION...VALID THRU 02/06Z.
VFR CONDITIONS AT ALL TERMINALS. SKC CONDITIONS WITH PERHAPS A FEW
CIRRUS AOA 25K FT THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON. THEN INCREASING MAINLY
HIGH CLOUDS MONDAY EVENING AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL
DISTURBANCE. SFC WINDS DIURNALLY DRIVEN AND GENERALLY LESS THAN 10
KTS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...DRY AND MILD CONDITIONS WILL LINGER THROUGH THE
FIRST PART OF THE WEEK. A STORM SYSTEM PASSING NORTH OF THE AREA
WILL SPREAD CLOUDS AND THE POTENTIAL FOR LIGHT SHOWERS LATE TUESDAY
THROUGH THE DAY WEDNESDAY. ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE ON THE LIGHT SIDE.
WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE ON THE LIGHTER SIDE THROUGH AT LEAST MID
WEEK.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION...THE UPPER LOW OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST TODAY WILL
ENHANCE THE RIDGING SOME TOMORROW AS IT MOVES ONSHORE. THIS SHOULD
HELP KEEP SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA DRY FOR AT LEAST ONE MORE
DAY...THOUGH COULD BEGIN TO SEE SOME SPRINKLES LATE TUESDAY IN THE
HIGHER TERRAIN...ESPECIALLY NORTHEAST OF TUCSON.

AROUND THIS TIME THE RIDGE AXIS SHOULD BE PUSHED OFF TO THE EAST
AS FAIRLY DEEP MOISTURE SLIDES IN. THE LOW LEVELS WILL INITIALLY
BE RELATIVELY DRY THOUGH MOISTURE ALOFT WILL HELP. GIVEN THE TOP
DOWN MOISTENING OF THE ATMOSPHERE EXPECTED TUESDAY NIGHT INTO
WEDNESDAY MORNING THE LATTER SHOULD BE THE BEST SHOWER ACTIVITY
AREA WIDE...WITH HIGHER TERRAIN EARLIER.

ON WEDNESDAY THE LOW WILL OPEN UP AS IT COMES ONSHORE ACROSS
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND WILL LIKELY MOVE ACROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN
WEST AS NOT MUCH MORE THAN A WEAK IMPULSE. THIS WILL ALLOW THE
FLOW ALOFT TO BECOME MORE ZONAL WITH TIME. THIS WILL ALLOW THINGS TO
DRY BACK OUT.

HOWEVER...NEXT WEEKEND MID RANGE GUIDANCE HAS COME IN BETTER
AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE NEXT UPPER TROUGH...WHICH COULD
BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF MOISTURE. THAT BEING SAID...THE TIMING OF
SAID TROUGH DIFFERS WIDELY BETWEEN GUIDANCE. HAVE CONTINUED TO
TREND THE FORECAST TO THE ECM AS IT REMAINS THE MOST CONSISTENT.

OTHERWISE...ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURE ARE EXPECTED TO STICK AROUND
UNTIL NEXT WEEKEND WHEN THE NEXT SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH.
THOUGH...THE AFTERNOON MAX TEMPERATURE WILL SEE SOME RELIEF THANKS
TO THE INCREASED CLOUD COVER TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. LOW
TEMPERATURES WILL NOT FAIR AS WELL.

&&

.TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

VISIT US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER...YOUTUBE...AND AT WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON

DISCUSSION...FRENCH
AVIATION...FRENCH
FIRE WEATHER...90
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...MEADOWS

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Southeast Pinal County

When
December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Southeast Pinal County forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.904, -111.345 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme drought (D3) category persisted across far eastern Pinal and western Graham Counties through December. Above normal precipitation did occur over much of area, which caused soil moisture to hold steady in the 70th percentile. Levels at San Carlos Reservoir also remained nearly steady, around 8 percent of capacity.

Drought, Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys

When
December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
33.074, -109.563 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme drought (D3) category persisted across far eastern Pinal and western Graham Counties through December. Above normal precipitation did occur over much of area, which caused soil moisture to hold steady in the 70th percentile. Levels at San Carlos Reservoir also remained nearly steady, around 8 percent of capacity.

Drought, Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains

When
December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.572, -110.328 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme drought (D3) category persisted across far eastern Pinal and western Graham Counties through December. Above normal precipitation did occur over much of area, which caused soil moisture to hold steady in the 70th percentile. Levels at San Carlos Reservoir also remained nearly steady, around 8 percent of capacity.

What these are

Drought
A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, December 2014

Sources

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: 551362, 551367, 551368.