Thunderstorm Wind — Maricopa, Arizona

2023-09-12 · near Velda Rose Estates, Maricopa, Arizona

Event narrative

Numerous reports of considerable damage at Falcon Field Airport from a severe microburst. Around 25 airplanes, mostly Cessna small aircraft, were damaged or destroyed, with some flipped over. One aviation flight school lost one third of their fleet, but it is unknown how many aircraft that amounts to. A few pilots reported that even planes with proper tie-downs broke free, with wind eyelets snapping and chains breaking as the planes likely tried to become airborne. Numerous hangars suffered significant damage, with around 90 hangar doors damaged or destroyed. Two World War II era hangars were damaged, with one losing its roof. Another hangar had an entire side wall shorn off. There were several downed trees around the airport, as well as damages to some other airport infrastructure and property, like fencing. A news report nearly three months later stated repairs are still being done and the total damages at the airport is around $7.2 million. An ASOS at Falcon Field Airport did not measure peak wind gusts from this storm due to a loss of power at the airport. Thus, based on damages, winds were estimated around 90 mph. No injuries were reported.

Wider weather episode

The synoptic pattern was characterized by strong westerly flow aloft situated across most of the Desert Southwest with embedded shortwave energy providing the main source for rising motion. Above normal moisture was present with PWATs in excess of 1.5 across most of central and southwestern AZ. The available moisture in combination with the daytime heating led to the development of moderate instability with MLCAPE in excess of 1000 J/KG. The strong westerly flow aloft led to strong vertical shear with 0-6 KM shear values ranging between 30-40 knots. All of these factors led to a very favorable environment for the development of strong to severe thunderstorms across portions of south-central AZ. Scattered thunderstorms started to develop by the early afternoon hours of the 12th with multiple rounds continuing into the evening hours. One severe thunderstorm in particular developed near the Buckeye area, became supercellular, and tracked generally eastward affecting areas such as Goodyear, Glendale, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa and Apache Junction, causing extensive straight-line wind damage along its path. Additional thunderstorms developed just east of the Phoenix metro area during the overnight and early morning hours of the 13th, with the main impact being isolated flash flooding.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.4588, -111.7271)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1140007. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.