Hail and Lightning Strike in Arizona, July 31, 2023

Name: Hail and Lightning Strike in Arizona, July 31, 2023
Start: 2023-07-31T12:20
End: 2023-07-31T15:00
Location: Arizona

July 31, 2023 · NWS FGZ · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Deep seasonal moisture move northward over northern Arizona with numerous showers and thunderstorms.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $600,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS FGZ wrote it up.

Deep seasonal moisture move northward over northern Arizona with numerous showers and thunderstorms.

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 Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 8:52 AM MST, 3 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 8:52 AM MST, 3 hours 28 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 31, 10:56 AM MST, 1 hour 24 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Flagstaff AZ
1056 AM MST Mon Jul 31 2023

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0310 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     Ash Fork                35.22N 112.48W
07/30/2023  E60 MPH          Yavapai            AZ   Trained Spotter

            Estimated 60 mph winds, along with
            frequently lightning and heavy rainfall.

&&

RJR

Local storm report, Jul 31, 10:59 AM MST, 1 hour 21 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Flagstaff AZ
1059 AM MST Mon Jul 31 2023

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0600 PM     Flash Flood      Ash Fork                35.22N 112.48W
07/30/2023                   Yavapai            AZ   Trained Spotter

            Roads in the area were impassable.

&&

RJR

The radar

The Flagstaff radar (KFSX), 91 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:18 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Coconino

When: July 31, 12:20 PM MST
Where: Coconino County, 5.76 mi ENE of Bellemont
Property damage: $600,000
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 35.261, -111.735

Lightning from a Monsoon thunderstorm destroyed a house in Baderville, north of Flagstaff Monday. Summit Fire and Medical crews arrived at the home just after 12:30 p.m. on a report of the roof of the home on fire. As crews got closer to the scene, firefighters could see smoke from Highway 180 and the fire was moved to a first alarm. Initial crews arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the attic of the home. More crews arrived to work the fire, including two water tenders. In all a total of 11 units and two battalion chiefs responded to the fire. There were no injuries to civilians or fire personnel and the home is a total loss (KAFF Country News).

Hail, Yavapai

When: July 31, 3:00 PM MST
Where: Yavapai County, Prescott
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.550, -112.470

A spotter relayed a picture that showed a mixture of dime, nickel, and quarter sized hail.

What these are

Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arizona in 2023 Every state in 2023 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, July 2023

Sources

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1105257, 1127230.