Temperatures in Southeastern Arizona were 6 to 12 degrees above normal with Minor to Moderate HeatRisk. The Pima County Medical Examiner found that heat was the cause of death for two individuals in Ajo and Sells.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
Temperatures in Southeastern Arizona were 6 to 12 degrees above normal with Minor to Moderate HeatRisk. The Pima County Medical Examiner found that heat was the cause of death for two individuals in Ajo and Sells. Additionally, the Pima County Medical Examiner found that heat was a contributing factor in the death of an individual in Tucson.
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 11, 1:07 AM MST, 8 hours 53 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Temperatures in Southeastern Arizona were 9 degrees above normal with Moderate HeatRisk. The Pima County Medical Examiner found that heat was the cause of death for an individual in Ajo. CWOP recorded a high temperature of 107 degrees Fahrenheit.
Temperatures in Southeastern Arizona were 12 degrees above normal with Moderate HeatRisk. The Pima County Medical Examiner found that heat was a contributing factor in the cause of death for an individual in Tucson.
Temperatures in Southeastern Arizona were 9 degrees above normal with Minor HeatRisk. The Pima County Medical Examiner found that heat was the cause of death for an individual in Sells. The Sells RAWS recorded a high temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, Western Pima County | 2026-05-11 | 51 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Heat, Tucson Metro Area | 2026-05-12 | 53 | Male | Mobile/Trailer Home | Indirect |
| Heat, Tohono O Odham Nation | 2026-05-15 | 21 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
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, May 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1340635, 1340638, 1340645.