Name: Drought in Arizona, April 1 to 30, 2015
Start: 2015-04-01T00:00
End: 2015-04-30T12:00
Location: Arizona

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 across far northeast Pinal County and a portion of west central Graham County were reduced to the severe (D2) category by the end of April.

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 Mar 31, 8:45 PM MST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 31, 8:45 PM MST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
845 PM MST TUE MAR 31 2015

.SYNOPSIS...A WEATHER SYSTEM PASSING NORTH OF THE AREA WILL BRING
GUSTY WINDS THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK...ESPECIALLY LATE WEDNESDAY
INTO THURSDAY. OTHERWISE EXPECT DRY CONDITIONS WITH TEMPERATURES
CONTINUING TO BE WARMER THAN USUAL.

&&

.DISCUSSION...SCATTERED CONVECTION SOUTH OF TUCSON TODAY...MAINLY
ACROSS SANTA CRUZ AND SOUTHERN COCHISE COUNTIES. NOT A LOT OF RAIN
WITH THOSE BUT SEVERAL REPORTS OF STRONG OUTFLOW WINDS BETWEEN 30
AND 45 MPH. A FEW VERY LIGHT SHOWERS HANGING ON THIS EVENING.
MOISTURE ACTUALLY CONTINUES TO CREEP UP THE SIERRA MADRES SOUTH OF
THE BORDER, WITH 1 INCH VALUES PUSHING INTO CENTRAL SONORA. AN
INCREASING WESTERLY FLOW OVER THE NEXT 36 HOURS WILL PUSH MUCH DRIER
AIR BACK INTO THE REGION. GUSTY WINDS LATE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY
ARE THE MAIN WEATHER CONCERN AS OUTLINED IN THE FIRE WEATHER SECTION
AND PREVIOUS DISCUSSION BELOW.

&&

.AVIATION...VALID THRU 02/06Z.
ISOLATED -SHRA THIS EVENING. CLEARING SKIES...WITH JUST SOME
HIGH-LEVEL CIRRUS LATER TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. LOCALLY GUSTY
WEST/SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. AVIATION
DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...GUSTY WEST/SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL OCCUR MAINLY DURING
THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS INTO THIS WEEKEND. THE
STRONGEST WINDS SHOULD ARE EXPECTED LATER WEDNESDAY AND ESPECIALLY
THURSDAY. ANTICIPATING HIGH COVERAGE OF SUSTAINED WINDS IN EXCESS OF
20 KTS WITH GUSTS TO 35 KTS...DAYTIME MINIMUM RH VALUES APPROACHING
10 PERCENT ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON...AND THE PRESENCE OF HIGH FIRE
DANGER IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. THEREFORE...WE HAVE ISSUED A FIRE
WEATHER WATCH VALID BETWEEN 10AM-8PM MST THURSDAY FOR ALL OF FIRE
WEATHER ZONE 153. FIELD CREWS ARE ENCOURAGED TO MONITOR SUBSEQUENT
FORECASTS FOR THE POTENTIAL ISSUANCE OF A RED FLAG WARNING.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION...A WEAK UPPER LOW TRACKING THROUGH MEXICO WILL
EXIT THE REGION TONIGHT. ENOUGH MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY HAD
RESULTED IN A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON...MAINLY
IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS AND NEAR THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER. WILL KEEP
THE MENTION OF THIS ACTIVITY THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING WITH MOST OF
IT DISSIPATING AFTER SUNDOWN. THE MAIN WEATHER STORY WILL BE THE
INCREASE IN WIND TOMORROW AND MORE SO THURSDAY. LATEST MODELS TRACK
THE TAIL END OF A SYSTEM THROUGH SOUTHERN ARIZONA ON THURSDAY.
THUS...EXPECTING WINDS TO PICKUP IN ADVANCE OF THE SYSTEM TOMORROW
AND INCREASING MORE ON THURSDAY AS IT PASSES THROUGH THE REGION. THE
INCREASE IN WIND AND DRY CONDITIONS WILL RESULT IN SOME FIRE WEATHER
CONCERNS...ESPECIALLY FOR THE WHITE MOUNTAINS ON THURSDAY. PLEASE
REFER TO THE FIRE WEATHER SECTION IN THIS PRODUCT FOR MORE DETAILS.
CONTINUED DRY WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES INTO THE WEEKEND.

&&

.TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
   FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR ZONE 153 THURSDAY.

&&

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

MEYER

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: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 12:00 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 for much of April across parts of far northeast Pinal and west central Graham Counties, including the Santa Teresa Mountains, but were reduced to the severe (D2) drought category by month's end. Soil moistures remained around the 70th percentile while levels at San Carlos Reservoir dropped slightly, to around 13 percent of capacity by the end of the month. However, between one half inch and one inch of rain fell in the extreme drought area on the 25th and 26th, which meant that some areas received more than their monthly normal during those two days, thus prompting the easing in the drought category.

Drought, Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 12:00 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 for much of April across parts of far northeast Pinal and west central Graham Counties, including the Santa Teresa Mountains, but were reduced to the severe (D2) drought category by month's end. Soil moistures remained around the 70th percentile while levels at San Carlos Reservoir dropped slightly, to around 13 percent of capacity by the end of the month. However, between one half inch and one inch of rain fell in the extreme drought area on the 25th and 26th, which meant that some areas received more than their monthly normal during those two days, thus prompting the easing in the drought category.

Drought, Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 12:00 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 for much of April across parts of far northeast Pinal and west central Graham Counties, including the Santa Teresa Mountains, but were reduced to the severe (D2) drought category by month's end. Soil moistures remained around the 70th percentile while levels at San Carlos Reservoir dropped slightly, to around 13 percent of capacity by the end of the month. However, between one half inch and one inch of rain fell in the extreme drought area on the 25th and 26th, which meant that some areas received more than their monthly normal during those two days, thus prompting the easing in the drought category.

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 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, April 2015

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: 571560, 571561, 571562.