Monsoonal moisture crept into southeast Arizona, resulting in thunderstorms across Santa Cruz, Greenlee and southern Cochise counties. One storm became severe in Santa Cruz County.
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.
Monsoonal moisture crept into southeast Arizona, resulting in thunderstorms across Santa Cruz, Greenlee and southern Cochise counties. One storm became severe in Santa Cruz County.
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 Jun 9, 2:12 PM MST, 1 hour 33 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tucson AZ 212 PM MST THU JUN 9 2016 .SYNOPSIS...An increase in moisture from the south will bring thunderstorms to the area through the first part of the weekend, with the busiest days expected to be Friday and Saturday. Some storms will generate strong gusty winds and possible blowing dust. The moisture increase will also help return temperatures to near normal values. A drier westerly flow will push moisture out of the area by late in the weekend. Hotter early next week, but below record levels. && .DISCUSSION...Water Vapor imagery and 09/12Z upper-air plots show a ridge just to our west over the northern Baja peninsula coastal waters, with the ridge axis extending northeast across southwest Arizona to the four corners region. Meanwhile, an upper low/inverted trough resides off the southern tip of the Baja peninsula with the trough axis extending north to around eastern Sonora. Visible and IR satellite imagery show towering cumulus clouds over east central Arizona, specifically the White mountains of northern Greenlee county and eastward into west central New Mexico. Meanwhile, cumulus clouds are also building across much of Santa Cruz county and parts of Cochise county, especially near the Chiricahua mountains of east central Cochise county. Radar mosaic from around the region is detecting scattered thunderstorms to our east in southwest New Mexico, mainly north of interstate 10 and east of the Silver City area. For my forecast area, only isolated development has occurred over the Chiricahua mountains of Cochise county and over eastern parts of Santa Cruz county. This mornings 09/12Z KTWC sounding revealed an increase in moisture from 24 hours ago, with a PW of 1.12 inches, compared to 0.95 inches from 08/12Z. As of 20Z, surface dewpoint temperatures ranged from the mid 40s to the lower 50s, which is about a 7 to 14 degree increase in dewpoint temperatures compared to 24 hours ago. Expect convection to continue to increase for the remainder of this afternoon and into the early evening hours. Prime locations for this activity should be to our south in the Nogales area and toward Douglas. In addition, the convection moving generally south will also impact parts of Greenlee and Graham counties during the next few hours. Models indicate that the high pressure to our west will continue to move northeast overnight, reaching northern Arizona by early Friday morning. In the meantime, the low well to our south and its associated inverted trough axis will swing west or west northwest across northern Mexico and toward the Yuma area by around midday Friday. As this occurs, moisture will continue to increase through Friday with PW's flirting with the 1.5 inch mark. The inverted trough moving by to our south will serve as a trigger mechanism to initiate convection Friday and expect an even better chance of showers and thunderstorms Friday afternoon and evening, with activity farther westward than what is expected this afternoon. That said, the best threat for thunderstorms Friday afternoon will occur between the Nogales to Douglas area with scattered activity extending north to the Tucson metro. Mountain tops area-wide will see a good to likely chance for showers/thunderstorms. By late Friday/early Saturday, the high will have moved to a position over the central plains with the aforementioned disturbance having moved from the Yuma area to around southern Nevada and western Utah. With southerly flow, moisture will continue to linger across the area and weak disturbances within this flow aloft will help trigger storms again Saturday afternoon, although rain chances will be less than what is expected for Friday. By early Sunday, a trough of low pressure over the western states will swing through southern California during the day and beginning to exit to the east by late in the day Monday. That said, lingering slight chances of showers and thunderstorms mainly for the mountains along either side of the border with New Mexico for Sunday and no threat for Monday and beyond as dry west to southwesterly flow develops next week. && .AVIATION...VALID THRU 11/00Z. Increasing clouds with scattered -TSRA/-SHRA mainly east and south of KTUS through 10/03Z. Localized wind gusts up to 45 kts possible with stronger storms, otherwise light winds overnight with gusty westerly winds in the afternoon. Aviation discussion not updated for TAF ammendments. && .FIRE WEATHER...Low level moisture will continue to work its way north the next couple of days resulting in steadily increasing dewpoints into the 50s. While this will raise humidity levels it will also bring high based thunderstorms to the area with mostly dry lightning and potentially strong outflow winds. Meanwhile, afternoon gusty winds from the west to northwest are expected in the Gila River Valley near Safford today and Friday. A few more storms around today than yesterday, with our best chance of thunderstorms Friday and Saturday for most of the area. A few storms possible Sunday near the New Mexico border, then beyond Sunday, a hot and dry pattern with typical SW breezes during the afternoons. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...None. && Mollere Visit us on Facebook...Twitter...YouTube...and at weather.gov/Tucson
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
324 PM MST THU JUN 9 2016
AZZ503-513-092300-
UPPER SANTA CRUZ RIVER AND ALTAR VALLEYS INCLUDING NOGALES AZ-
DRAGOON/MULE/HUACHUCA AND SANTA RITA MOUNTAINS INCLUDING
BISBEE/CANELO HILLS/MADERA CANYON AZ-
324 PM MST THU JUN 9 2016
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTH CENTRAL SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
UNTIL 400 PM MST...
AT 324 PM MST...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR
NOGALES...MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 25 MPH.
WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
NOGALES...RIO RICO SOUTHEAST...RIO RICO SOUTHWEST...
PENA BLANCA LAKE AND KINO SPRINGS.
LAT...LON 3136 11117 3151 11087 3135 11070 3133 11073
3133 11108
TIME...MOT...LOC 2224Z 053DEG 24KT 3141 11087
FRANCISThe Tucson radar (KEMX), 54 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:46 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds uprooted trees in rural Santa Cruz County.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, June 2016
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: 633374, 633375.