Name: Heavy Rain in Arizona, July 15, 2014
Start: 2014-07-15T12:15
End: 2014-07-15T16:15
Location: Arizona

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 PSR wrote it up.

During the late morning hours on July 15th, thunderstorms developed across portions of south central Arizona, including the communities of Queen Creek and Superior. The storms produced locally heavy rainfall, with rainfall rates between 1 and 2 inches per hour. The rain led to urban and small stream flooding, which included water 6 inches deep flooding the main street in the town of Superior. Additionally, there was increased flow in Queen Creek with water running 6 inches deep. No injuries were reported due to the flooding.

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 Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 15, 9:50 AM MST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 15, 9:50 AM MST, 2 hours 25 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 15, 12:15 PM MST, 0 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
1215 PM MST TUE JUL 15 2014

AZZ024-028-152000-
GILA AZ-PINAL AZ-MARICOPA AZ-
1215 PM MST TUE JUL 15 2014

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR...
  SOUTH CENTRAL GILA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA
  EXTREME EAST CENTRAL MARICOPA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA
  EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA

UNTIL 100 PM MST

AT 1209 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 11 MILES SOUTHEAST OF APACHE LAKE.  THIS STORM
WAS NEARLY STATIONARY.

WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH
VERY HEAVY RAIN.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  RURAL FOREST ROADS BETWEEN SUPERIOR AND APACHE LAKE...

SOME UNSECURED OBJECTS WILL BE BLOWN AROUND AND TREE LIMBS COULD BE
SNAPPED OFF. SEEK SHELTER INDOORS UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.

VERY HEAVY RAINFALL MAY CAUSE TEMPORARY PONDING ON SOME ROADS AND
MINOR FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. IN HEAVY RAINFALL...SLOW DOWN
TO REDUCE THE RISK OF HYDROPLANING...AND LEAVE A SAFE DISTANCE
BETWEEN YOURSELF AND OTHER VEHICLES.

LAT...LON 3338 11096 3327 11132 3354 11126 3356 11101
TIME...MOT...LOC 1912Z 001DEG 2KT 3345 11115

LEINS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Pinal

When: July 15, 12:15 PM MST to 4:15 PM MST
Where: Pinal County, 1.38 mi N of Superior
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 33.300, -111.100

Thunderstorms with heavy rain developed in the area around Superior during the early afternoon hours on July 15th. The storms were slow moving, and produced rainfall rates in excess of one inch per hour, which led to local flooding of streams, washes and area roads. A Small Stream Flood Advisory was issued for Superior, starting at 1313MST and continuing until 1615MST. At 1325MST a trained weather spotter 1 mile northeast of Superior measured 0.94 inches of rain which fell in less than one hour. Shortly thereafter, the spotter reported that water was 6 inches deep across the main street in Superior, and Queen Creek was flowing with water about 6 inches deep. At 1342MST, a second trained spotter in Superior reported street flooding in Superior and on Highway 60 just east of Superior. Flow continued in Queen Creek through the late afternoon hours, and the depth of flowing water exceeded 12 inches by 1645MST.

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, July 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 526167.