5 inch range combined with weak steering flow produced a few very slow moving and heavy raining thunderstorms. Some storms impacted the Tucson metro, with wind damage, power outages, flash flooding and swift water rescues.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
Precipitable water values in the 1.3-1.5 inch range combined with weak steering flow produced a few very slow moving and heavy raining thunderstorms. Some storms impacted the Tucson metro, with wind damage, power outages, flash flooding and swift water rescues.
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 Jul 5, 2:26 PM MST, 1 hour 46 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 226 PM MST SAT JUL 5 2014 .SYNOPSIS...A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE WEEKEND. A WEAK DISTURBANCE IS EXPECTED TO HELP ENHANCE THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY AND TUESDAY BEFORE SOME DRYING LEADS TO A DOWNWARD TREND THE SECOND HALF OF NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP MAINLY IN THE MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE AID OF DAYTIME HEATING AND A WEAK IMPULSE MOVING NORTH OUT OF SONORA MEXICO. THE AIR MASS REMAINED VERY MOIST AND THE STEERING FLOW WAS LIGHT AND VARIABLE SO THE MAIN CONCERN THROUGH THIS EVENING WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. CANNOT RULE OUT SOME STRONG WINDS WITH THE HEAVIER DOWNPOURS. THE ACTIVITY SHOULD PRETTY MUCH DIMINISH AFTER SUNDOWN AND AS THE IMPULSE MOVES OVER CENTRAL ARIZONA. SIMILAR COVERAGE EXPECTED TOMORROW...BUT THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS CONTINUED TO ADVERTISE A STRONG IMPULSE ROTATING THROUGH SOUTHEAST ARIZONA ON MONDAY. THIS FEATURE COULD RESULT IN MORE ORGANIZED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH LINGERING AREAS OF RAIN MONDAY NIGHT. THAT SAID...WILL KEEP THE TREND OF INCREASING POP VALUES FOR MONDAY COMPARED TO TODAY AND SUNDAY. THEREAFTER...THE LARGE SCALE PATTERN BECOMES LESS FAVORABLE FOR A DECENT COVERAGE IN STORMS AS THE IMPULSE ROTATES OVER SOUTHERN ARIZONA AND TAKES A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH THROUGH SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA. BY NEXT WEEKEND THOUGH...MODELS HINT AT THE FLOW PATTERN BECOMING MORE FAVORABLE FOR WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY STARTING SATURDAY INTO THE FOLLOWING WEEK. && .AVIATION...VALID THROUGH 07/00Z. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THRU 06/04Z WITH FOCUS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND WESTERN PIMA COUNTY. DUE TO LIGHT WINDS ALOFT SLOW AND ERRATIC STORM MOTION EXCEPT WHERE DRIVEN BY STRONG OUTFLOWS. OTHERWISE FEW-SCT080 SCT-BKN120. WIDELY SCT THUNDERSTORMS REDEVELOPING AFT 06/19Z...AGAIN MAINLY OVER MOUNTAINS. WINDS VARIABLE TO 10 KTS EXCEPT VCNTY THUNDERSTORMS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. CERNIGLIA && .FIRE WEATHER...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS INTO THIS EVENING. WITH SLOW MOVEMENT...THE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF HEAVY RAINFALL. EXPECTING SOME WIDELY SCATTERED STORMS AGAIN SUNDAY...PRIMARILY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. MONDAY AND TUESDAY EXPECT AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF CONVECTION ACROSS THE AREA...THEN CHANCES DIMINISHING SOME WEDNESDAY ONWARD. HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL REMAIN HIGH THROUGH WEDNESDAY THEN DIMINISH A BIT THEREAFTER. WINDS THROUGH NEXT WEEK WILL BE GENERALLY LESS THAN 15 MPH WITH THE EXCEPTION OF STRONG GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS UNDER AND AROUND ANY THUNDERSTORMS. CERNIGLIA && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && VISIT US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER...YOUTUBE...AND AT WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
355 PM MST SAT JUL 5 2014
AZZ503-504-507-513-514-052330-
DRAGOON/MULE/HUACHUCA AND SANTA RITA MOUNTAINS INCLUDING
BISBEE/CANELO HILLS/MADERA CANYON AZ-SANTA CATALINA AND RINCON
MOUNTAINS INCLUDING MOUNT LEMMON/SUMMERHAVEN AZ-TUCSON METRO AREA
INCLUDING TUCSON/GREEN VALLEY/MARANA/VAIL AZ-UPPER SAN PEDRO RIVER
VALLEY INCLUDING SIERRA VISTA/BENSON AZ-UPPER SANTA CRUZ RIVER AND
ALTAR VALLEYS INCLUDING NOGALES AZ-
355 PM MST SAT JUL 5 2014
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR EASTERN PIMA COUNTY UNTIL 430 PM
MST...
AT 344 PM MST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 18 MILES WEST OF BENSON...OR 25 MILES EAST OF
GREEN VALLEY. THIS STORM WAS NEARLY STATIONARY WITH A STRONG
OUTFLOW MOVING TOWARD THE TUCSON AREA.
WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM ACROSS THE
METRO AREA. HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL IS POSSIBLE SOUTH AND EAST OF
VAIL.
AREAS AFFECTED BY THIS STORM INCLUDE...TUCSON...VAIL...RITA RANCH...
SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK EAST...DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE...TUCSON
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...SAN XAVIER MISSION...SOUTH TUCSON...SEVEN
FALLS...SABINO CANYON AND CATALINA FOOTHILLS.
LAT...LON 3185 11071 3193 11116 3243 11086 3213 11047
3213 11045 3185 11047
TIME...MOT...LOC 2254Z 180DEG 0KT 3198 11062
CERNIGLIAThe Tucson radar (KEMX), 15 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:10 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm wind gusts downed trees, blew over a gasoline pump and part of the roof of a business in Corona De Tucson.
Thunderstorm winds snapped six power poles and downed trees along Old Spanish Trail from Irvington to Golf Links Roads. Over 1600 homes were left without power southeast of Houghton Escalante Roads.
Heavy rain falling at the rate of 0.5 in 15 minutes caused flash flooding as storms moved northwest across the east side of the Tucson metro area. Houghton Rd. was flooded south of the Pima County Fair Grounds. In addition, two people who were trapped on top of their SUV in Alamo Wash, at Yale Dr. and Kenyon Dr. were rescued. Another car was stranded in flood waters near Stella and Harrison Rd.
Thunderstorm winds downed power poles near Sunrise Drive and Sabino Canyon Road.
A spotter measured a wind gust of 60 mph at Tucson Mall. Thunderstorm winds downed trees near Limberlost and First Avenue, one of which fell on a car, while another fell on a mobile home. A tree also fell on a jeep at Magee and Oracle while other trees were downed near River and La Cholla. About 1300 customers lost power due to downed power lines in the Flowing Wells neighborhood.
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, July 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: 525476, 520740, 520759, 525382, 520751.