A large area of rain and thunderstorms remained over portions of the area on the morning of August 13 causing flash flooding in the Tucson Metro Area. Another round of eastward-moving scattered thunderstorms developed in the afternoon and produced damaging wind gusts in Sahuarita.
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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.
A large area of rain and thunderstorms remained over portions of the area on the morning of August 13 causing flash flooding in the Tucson Metro Area. Another round of eastward-moving scattered thunderstorms developed in the afternoon and produced damaging wind gusts in Sahuarita.
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 Aug 13, 2:47 AM MST, 58 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tucson AZ 247 AM MST Sun Aug 13 2017 .SYNOPSIS...A good chance of showers and thunderstorms into Sunday. Some storms will generate heavy rain and strong winds. A drying trend will begin Monday and continue during the upcoming week, with only isolated thunderstorms mainly east to south of Tucson by mid week. && .DISCUSSION...Busy morning across central and southern Arizona with flash flooding the main concern through daybreak. The thunderstorm activity has been driven by the collision of multiple outflows. The most recent merging of outflows, one from the north and the other from the south, was over the greater Tucson area. Several gauges, especially on the south and east sides of town, were reporting over 1.5 inches in a 1 to 2 hour time frame. The high resolution models offer very little help in how the short-term forecast will evolve having not captured the current activity properly. At any rate, still expecting the shower and thunderstorm activity to diminish in areal coverage through at least daybreak. This night time activity will likely limit and delay the redevelopment this afternoon and evening. That said, still anticipating decent coverage of storms again later today. Thereafter, models continued to show a deepening westerly flow around Tuesday through next weekend. This will result in a drier and less favorable pattern for daily thunderstorms, with daytime readings remaining at or slightly above normal. && .AVIATION...Valid thru 14/12Z. Scattered -TSRA/-SHRA around KTUS and east-to-south of KTUS mostly ending around daybreak today. Redevelopment of isolated to Scattered -TSRA/-SHRA this afternoon and evening. Brief wind gusts to around 40 kts and small hail with the stronger thunderstorms. Otherwise, VFR conditions with surface wind variable in direction mainly less than 12 kts. Aviation discussion not updated for TAF amendments. && .FIRE WEATHER...A good chance of thunderstorms today, followed by a decrease in thunderstorms from west-to-east Monday into next Friday. Isolated afternoon and evening thunderstorms will likely be limited to locales east-to-south of Tucson most of the upcoming next week. 20-foot winds will generally be terrain driven less than 15 mph apart from gusty thunderstorms outflows. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...None. && Visit us on Facebook...Twitter...YouTube...and at weather.gov/Tucson
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:46 UTC.
1 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A swift water rescue was conducted along Ina Road near Camino de los Caballos when a car was swept 20 feet off the road due to flash flooding. Sandario Road also became inundated by flood waters between Avra Valley and Twin Peaks Roads.
Several trees were downed across the town of Sahuarita.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, August 2017
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: 718399, 718400, 719953.