Arizona, 2018Heat in Arizona, May 16 to 18, 2018
May 16 to 18, 2018 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone
Hot temperatures in the mid to upper 90s were experienced in parts of southeast Arizona on May 16th through the 18th. One heat-related fatality occurred east of Sierra Vista.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
Hot temperatures in the mid to upper 90s were experienced in parts of southeast Arizona on May 16th through the 18th. One heat-related fatality occurred east of Sierra Vista.
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 May 16, 2:49 AM MST, 7 hours 11 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 16, 2:49 AM MST, 7 hours 11 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tucson AZ
249 AM MST Wed May 16 2018
.SYNOPSIS...Dry weather, with predominantly clear skies and warm to
average temperatures throughout the forecast. Breezes strengthen on
Thursday into Friday and again early next week.
&&
.DISCUSSION...Hard to find a hint of cloud cover anywhere near
the state early this morning under dry southwesterly 500mb flow.
With the ridge axis stretching across the eastern portion of the
Rockies, high temperatures continue to warm several degrees above
normal. Some of the warmest valley locations could even make a push
toward triple digits as guidance has depicted a slight cool bias
the past few days.
Temperatures begin to trend down a couple degrees on Thursday as the
pattern progresses east and an upper low moves into Nevada,
producing height and thickness falls. The more significant change
will be the tightening gradient and winds become quite breezy during
the afternoon, especially across Cochise County. As the low slowly
ejects toward the northeast on Friday, winds remain strong east of
Tucson, becoming light area-wide over the weekend. Temperatures also
continue to drop allowing for near seasonal normals Friday and
Saturday.
A second low slides down the Pacific coastline early next week,
which could allow for an increase in moisture along the New
Mexico/Arizona border. Models diverge slightly, with the ECMWF
pushing the low farther south and hinting at the best chances for
showers reaching the higher terrain out east. However, this remains
an outlier for the time being and precipitation has been left out of
the forecast for now. Higher confidence exists for breezy conditions
returning Monday and Tuesday.
&&
.AVIATION...Valid through 17/12Z
CLR thru valid pd. SFC winds light and terrain driven except
becoming W-NW 5-12 kts 16/19Z thru 17/02Z. Aviation discussion not
updated for amended TAFs.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...Warm and very dry conditions will continue across
southern Arizona into the foreseeable future. Generally light winds
are expected today with typical afternoon gustiness. A weather
system passing by to the north will pick up the winds Thursday and
Friday afternoons resulting in elevated fire weather conditions
across much of the area Thursday and mainly zone 152 Friday. Another
dry and breezy system is expected to affect the area early to the
middle part of next week.
&&
.TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.
&&
Howlett
Visit us on Facebook...Twitter...YouTube...and at weather.gov/Tucson
Heat, Upper San Pedro River Valley
- When
- May 16, 10:00 AM MST to May 18, 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Upper San Pedro River Valley forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- County Official
- Coordinates
- 32.109, -110.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Well above normal temperatures occurred in the San Pedro River Valley of Cochise County May 16th through May 18th. The hottest day was May 17th when a high temperature of 96 degrees was recorded at Tombstone and 97 degrees at Saint David. The Pima County Medical Examiner confirmed that heat was the primary cause of death for one adult male near the San Pedro River north of State Route 90. The exact date that the fatality occurred is not certain, but likely occurred within this three-day time period.
- Heat
- Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Lightning Strike in Florida, May 16, 20181 death · 2 injured · 1 event
- Heat in Texas, May 16, 20181 death · 1 event
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Kentucky, May 16, 2018$70,000 · 3 events
- Lightning Strike in Mississippi, May 16, 2018$30,000 · 1 event
- Flooding in West Virginia, May 16 to 21, 2018$1,000 · 13 events
- Lightning Strike in Tennessee, May 16, 20181 injured · $10,000 · 1 event
- Flooding in Virginia, May 16 to 17, 20189 events
- Hail in Texas, May 16, 20181.75 in hail · 8 events
- Heavy Rain in California, May 16 to 17, 20187 events
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, May 16, 20187 events
- Hail in Kansas, May 16 to 19, 20181.75 in hail · 7 events
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Nevada, May 16 to 17, 20181.75 in hail · 7 events
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: 856774.