Deep low pressure was located over the eastern US with a high pressure ridge in the west. Southeasterly flow of 10 to 15 kts prevailed over Arizona, with scattered thunderstorms developing during the afternoon hours.
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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.
Deep low pressure was located over the eastern US with a high pressure ridge in the west. Southeasterly flow of 10 to 15 kts prevailed over Arizona, with scattered thunderstorms developing during the afternoon hours. Isolated wind damage occurred in Tucson.
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 Sep 13, 2:55 PM MST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 255 PM MST SUN SEP 13 2015 .SYNOPSIS...EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR TUESDAY...THEN DRY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA LATER THIS WEEK. COOLER TEMPERATURES WILL OCCUR MONDAY AND TUESDAY FOLLOWED BY A WARMING TREND LATER THIS WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH THE LEAST FAVORED AREA FOR MEASURABLE RAINFALL TO BE NEAR THE NEW MEXICO BORDER. THE MAIN CONCERN ASSOCIATED WITH THESE SHOWERS/TSTMS THIS EVENING WILL BE GUSTY WINDS GIVEN A DRY NEAR-SURFACE ENVIRONMENT. ESTIMATED WIND GUST SPEEDS WILL RANGE FROM 25-35 KTS. KALK PEAK WIND WAS 26 KTS FROM AN OUTFLOW EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON. HAVE MAINTAINED A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS/TSTMS LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING. EXPECT DEEPER MOISTURE ON MONDAY TO TRANSITION EWD ACROSS THE AREA AS FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE SWLY. SCATTERED SHOWERS/TSTMS SHOULD OCCUR ACROSS MUCH OF SE ARIZONA MON AFTERNOON/EVENING. HOWEVER... ONLY ISOLATED SHOWERS/TSTMS ARE FORECAST TO PREVAIL ACROSS WRN PIMA COUNTY. ISOLATED SHOWERS/TSTMS WILL THEN OCCUR ACROSS THIS FORECAST AREA TUE AFTERNOON AND EARLY TUE EVENING. THEREAFTER...CONSIDERABLY DRIER CONDITIONS WILL BEGIN WED AS DEEPER MOISTURE IS SHUNTED WELL EAST OF THE AREA. HAVE OPTED FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS/TSTMS ACROSS FAR SERN SECTIONS WED...THEN DRY CONDITIONS AREA-WIDE THUR INTO SAT MORNING. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS/TSTMS RETURNS TO FAR ERN SECTIONS THIS WEEKEND WITH DRY CONDITIONS ELSEWHERE. A COOLING TREND WILL OCCUR MON-TUE FOLLOWED BY A VERY GRADUAL WARMING TREND DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK. && .AVIATION...VALID THRU 15/00Z. SCATTERED -TSRA/-SHRA WILL PREVAIL THIS EVENING THEN ISOLATED -SHRA/-TSRA WILL OCCUR LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED -TSRA/-SHRA WILL THEN OCCUR MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. MVFR CONDITIONS AND WIND GUSTS OF 25-35 KTS WILL OCCUR WITH THE STRONGER TSRA. OTHERWISE...CLOUD DECKS WILL GENERALLY RANGE FROM 10- 15K FT AGL. SURFACE WIND WILL BE MAINLY LESS THAN 10 KTS INTO MONDAY MORNING...THEN SURFACE WIND WILL BE SWLY 10-15 KTS WITH GUSTS TO 20 KTS MONDAY AFTERNOON. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOLLOWED BY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY FROM TUCSON EAST TO THE NEW MEXICO BORDER TUESDAY. DRY CONDITIONS WILL THEN PREVAIL ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA WEDNESDAY INTO NEXT WEEKEND. EXPECT SOME AFTERNOON SOUTHWEST BREEZINESS THIS WEEK. OTHERWISE...20-FOOT WINDS WILL BE LESS THAN 15 MPH AT OTHER TIMES. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && VISIT US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER...YOUTUBE...AND AT WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON FRANCIS
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 354 PM MST SUN SEP 13 2015 AZZ502-504>506-514-132345- SOUTH CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY INCLUDING ELOY/PICACHO PEAK STATE PARK AZ- TUCSON METRO AREA INCLUDING TUCSON/GREEN VALLEY/MARANA/VAIL AZ- TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION INCLUDING SELLS AZ- SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY INCLUDING KEARNY/MAMMOTH/ORACLE AZ- SANTA CATALINA AND RINCON MOUNTAINS INCLUDING MOUNT LEMMON/SUMMERHAVEN AZ- 354 PM MST SUN SEP 13 2015 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTH CENTRAL PINAL AND NORTHEASTERN PIMA COUNTIES UNTIL 445 PM MST... AT 352 PM MST...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR TORTOLITA...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 15 MPH. REDUCED VISIBILITIES DUE TO BLOWING DUST AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. A TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTED AREAS OF DENSE BLOWING DUST ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... BLOWING DUST CAN QUICKLY REDUCE VISIBILITY...CAUSING ACCIDENTS THAT MAY INVOLVE CHAIN COLLISIONS. IF DENSE DUST IS OBSERVED ACROSS A ROADWAY...PULL YOUR VEHICLE OFF THE PAVEMENT AS FAR AS POSSIBLE TO STOP. TURN OFF THE LIGHTS...SET THE EMERGENCY BRAKE...AND TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE BRAKE PEDAL TO ENSURE TAIL LIGHTS ARE NOT ILLUMINATED. && LAT...LON 3230 11091 3216 11130 3267 11161 3279 11088 TIME...MOT...LOC 2252Z 156DEG 17KT 3241 11111
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:59 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds broke a 10 inch diameter tree limb near Orange Grove and Oracle Roads.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, September 2015
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: 602398.