An upper level trough that moved across the Great Basin resulted in a period of high winds out of the southwest in southeast Arizona near the New Mexico line.
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.
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.
An upper level trough that moved across the Great Basin resulted in a period of high winds out of the southwest in southeast Arizona near the New Mexico line.
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 Mar 30, 2:22 AM MST, 11 hours 38 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tucson AZ 222 AM MST Thu Mar 30 2023 .SYNOPSIS...Strong and gusty winds today along with cooler temperatures as a storm moves across the area. Best precip chances will be north of the area but a few light showers are possible. Friday will be another cooler than normal day before warmer temperatures return for the weekend into early next week. Windy again Monday just ahead of another storm system expected Tuesday. && .DISCUSSION...A strong storm is pushing in from the central CA coast and into the central Great Basin this morning as expected. Windy today ahead of it with strongest winds east of Tucson. Could get dusty out there with localized areas of blowing potentially impacting road travel. Best precip chances still north of the area, with virga and sprinkles for the SE corner of the state. Still looking to be on the cool side behind the system Friday morning, with morning lows around 8 to 10 degrees below average for the end of March. Below freezing in colder eastern and southern valleys, but that's par for the course in those areas as they generally have average last freeze dates in April. High pressure with a quick warmup Saturday. A weakness in the flow coming in off the Pacific Sunday, however it looks dry. Just enough to put a damper on the warming trend. Another weather system the first half of next week is looking windy again Monday. && .AVIATION...Valid through 31/12Z. Mostly clear with SCT clouds at or above 20k ft AGL at times. After 30/15Z conditions becoming SCT - BKN 8k-13k ft MSL west of Tucson with a few -SHRA. SW SFC winds increasing after 30/16Z to 15-30 kts with gusts around 40 kts. Winds locally stronger east of KSAD and KDUG. Wind diminishing late in the day west of Tucson. Aviation discussion not updated for TAF amendments. && .FIRE WEATHER...A strong storm system will move across the area today. Other than a few light rain showers over central and western Pima county it is expected to be dry with strong winds much of the day. The strongest winds will be south and east of Tucson with SW 20-35 mph winds and local gusts of 45+ mph. RH will be elevated most areas with the exception of the SE corner of Cochise county where meteorological Red Flag conditions may be met briefly over local areas. Overall fuel bed is in question for meeting criteria however fires in standing dead fine fuels may be resistant to control efforts in this area with this wind and RH combination. Friday will be a dry and cool day, then warmer weather will develop this weekend into early next week. Windy again Monday afternoon ahead of another storm system. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from 11 AM this morning to 7 PM MST this evening for AZZ507>513. && Visit us on Facebook...Twitter...YouTube...and at weather.gov/Tucson
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A peak wind gust to 61 mph was recorded at Bisbee-Douglas Airport KDUG ASOS at 1430MST with a 58 mph gust at San Simon at 1403MST.
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, March 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: 1088597.