Dust Devil in Tucson Metro caused a 9 inch diameter tree branch to be broken. No injuries or fatalities associated with this dust devil.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
Dust Devil in Tucson Metro caused a 9 inch diameter tree branch to be broken. No injuries or fatalities associated with this dust devil.
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 Apr 22, 2:18 PM MST, 12 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tucson AZ 218 PM MST Wed Apr 22 2026 .SYNOPSIS...Warm and dry conditions will prevail for Southeast Arizona through the weekend. Breezy conditions each afternoon will result in elevated to near critical fire conditions east of Tucson today into the weekend. The strongest winds to impact the area will occur Saturday. && .DISCUSSION...Water vapor imagery shows a shortwave exiting Arizona with a larger closed low entering the northern Great Basin. The passing shortwave has lead to breezy winds this afternoon. Current gusts range from 20 to 30 mph and will continue through the afternoon and early evening. Thursday the closed low stays to the north and moves into the Dakotas with a shortwave moving around its southern periphery near the AZ/UT border and the Four Corners region. This will lead to another round of breezy winds, slightly stronger than today, from central Pima County eastward. Winds will be below Red Flag criteria both today and tomorrow, but will be strong enough to lead to elevated fire weather conditions both days. Temperatures also cool a few degrees to around normal Thursday. Friday will see mostly zonal flow aloft before the next trough moves through the region this weekend. Winds remain slightly elevated with speeds 10-15 mph in the afternoon. This weekend a small closed low moves onshore into southern California then opens up and travels through Arizona. The jet associated with the low will pass right over southeast Arizona, mixing down momentum which will lead to breezy to windy conditions both Saturday and Sunday. Although Sunday it looks like the stronger winds will be confined to areas east of Tucson. Expect sustained speeds of 15-25 mph and gusts 30-40 mph both days with Sunday winds likely a little stronger than Saturday. Some areas of critical fire weather conditions may be possible Saturday with RH values 10-15 percent in lower elevation valleys. However surface moisture does begin to creep into western Pima County Saturday afternoon. Depending on how far east this moisture makes it, RH values could be impacted which would reduce the threat of Red Flag conditions. Sunday the moisture makes it into the eastern valleys and temperatures cool 4-6 degrees below normal, which will keep RH values around 15-25 percent for most locations. The NBM keeps precip chances north of our area Sunday but ensembles, mainly the EPS, do show a slight chance for showers in Pinal County and northern Graham/Greenlee Counties. Early next week it looks like southeast Arizona will get a brief break from the breezy winds before ensembles bring another Pacific low through the region by the middle of the week. Higher confidence that this low will bring more breezy winds Wednesday, and lower confidence that it will bring some precipitation. Right now NBM PoPs are 15-30 percent east of Tucson Wednesday. Ensemble probabilities are similar. && .AVIATION...Valid through 24/00Z. FEW-SCT high clouds AOA 20k ft AGL through the evening becoming BKN overnight through the end of the period. SFC winds SWLY/WLY at 12-16 kts with occasional gusts 20-24 kts thru 24/02Z. Later this evening and overnight SFC winds remain under 10 kts and terrain driven. Winds increase again Thursday afternoon 12-18 kts with gusts up to 25 kts. Aviation discussion not updated for TAF amendments. && .FIRE WEATHER...Warm and dry into the weekend. Minimum RHs will generally be in the 10-20 percent areawide through Saturday, then increase to 15-25 percent in the valleys and 25-35 percent in mountains Sunday as a weather disturbance moves into the area. Passing systems to the north will keep Southeast Arizona dry, with breezy to locally windy west winds into the weekend. Elevated fire weather conditions will be possible today and Thursday with the possibility small areas near the AZ/NM seeing brief critical fire conditions Thursday afternoon. Saturday winds will be 15-25 mph with gusts 30-35 mph leading to the possibility that some areas from central Pima County eastward could see critical fire weather conditions. Winds will still be strong Sunday east of Tucson, but with RH values increasing the threat for critical fire weather conditions is greatly reduced. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && Hardin Visit us on Facebook, X, YouTube, and at weather.gov/Tucson
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.
Dust devil caused a 9 inch diameter tree branch to be broken. No injuries or fatalities associated with this dust devil.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, April 2026
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: 1330160.