Scattered thunderstorms developed and moved southwest across southeast Arizona during the afternoon. One storm produced a severe wind gust in Greenlee County.
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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.
Scattered thunderstorms developed and moved southwest across southeast Arizona during the afternoon. One storm produced a severe wind gust in Greenlee 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 Aug 26, 9:50 AM MST, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tucson AZ 950 AM MST Sat Aug 26 2023 .SYNOPSIS...High pressure will build back overhead the next several days, which will push temperatures back to near record levels by Monday. A chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms will continue today before a less favorable flow curtails storm coverage early in the new week. && .DISCUSSION...Satellite imagery this morning shows a remnant Mesoscale Convective Vortex resulting in widespread scattered to broken cloudcover across much of southeast Arizona this morning. Taking a look at the 26/12Z sounding from KTWC there are slightly cooler temperatures aloft compared to this time yesterday, but CAPE is still similar to yesterday with little juice to fuel afternoon storms even with 1.5 inches of precipitable water. An upper-level high is also in place over southeast Arizona leading to an area of widespread subsidence aloft which could be a limiting factor in the coverage and intensity of afternoon convection. Despite these limitations, the HREF composite reflectivity ensemble paintball product depicts afternoon showers and storms popping up around 1-2 pm MST from the remnant MCV particularly over portions of Santa Cruz and Pima counties. Showers and storms that do form are expected to remain weak producing only brief moderate to heavy rainfall and wind gusts to 30-40 mph through the afternoon into the early evening hours. In the meantime, a strong upper high is working its way back into the Desert Southwest this weekend with the NBM probabilities for Tucson International Airport to meet or exceed 108 degrees 11%, 33%, 31%, 9% for Sunday through Wednesday respectively. Thus, an Excessive Heat Warning remains in place. && .AVIATION...Valid through 27/12Z SCT-BKN clouds at 9k-12k ft AGL along with isolated -SHRA thru 26/14Z. Diminishing cloud cover between 26/14Z and 26/19Z. From 26/19Z thru 27/06Z, SCT-BKN clouds at 8k-11k ft AGL and ISOLD-SCT SHRA/TSRA primarily from KTUS east and south. Aft 27/06Z, slowly diminishing cloud cover thru the end of forecast period. Brief MVFR CIGS/VSBYS, mountain obscurations and gusts to 35-45 kts associated with the TSRA. SFC wind less than 12 kts and favoring a ELY/SELY direction. Aviation discussion not updated for TAF amendments. && .FIRE WEATHER...Isolated to scattered afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms are expected primarily from Tucson east and south through early next week, potentially spreading westward across all of southeast Arizona mid to late next week. 20-foot winds will generally be less than 15 mph outside of any thunderstorm outflow winds. High temperatures will be 2-5 degrees above normal today, warming to 7-10 degrees above normal by Monday and Tuesday of next week. An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect from Sunday morning through Tuesday evening. .PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 229 AM MST Sat Aug 26 2023 High pressure will shift in from the east over the next 24 hours as a trough digs into eastern states and low pressure remains near the west coast. The resulting increase in heights and thicknesses will support excessive heat levels over the next few days with some record highs threatened Monday. Meanwhile, a weak flow combined with warmer mid levels will tamp down thunderstorm coverage a bit Sunday and Monday. High pressure will begin to shift back to the east by mid week, with an increasing southerly to southeasterly flow reinforcing moisture levels and bringing a more favorable storm environment. Thursday still looks interesting with a trough through the region northwest of our area and an east-west oriented ridge axis nosing into SE AZ. Weak upper level diffluence and a better shear environment for organized storms. After a busy period for storms the second half of next week into the following weekend, some ensemble members are suggesting a pattern change into broad troughiness across much of the CONUS the first week in September around Labor Day or so. That would be a monsoon breaker, but probably not a permanent one as the monsoon begins to recede like a tide. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Excessive Heat Warning from 10 AM Sunday to 9 PM MST Tuesday for AZZ501>505-515. && Van Stratten Visit us on Facebook...Twitter...YouTube...and at weather.gov/Tucson
The Tucson radar (KEMX), 193 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:15 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A wind gust to 65 mph was measured at the Trail Cabin RAWS. Time estimated from radar at 1315MST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, August 2023
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: 1130801.