Hail — Graham, Arizona

2016-10-08 · near Safford, Graham, Arizona

Event narrative

One inch diameter hail began around 2300 LST as a large thunderstorm moved through Safford. The storm eventually produced hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter. Homes, vehicles and property were damaged throughout Safford and Solomon. Copious amounts of smaller hail fell for 20 minutes in some locations, causing accumulations of up to 6. In many spots, the hail did not melt overnight and was still piled up on roads, sidewalks and yards the following morning. In addition, where hail broke windows, rain and additional hail entered buildings causing water damage. This caused some schools in Safford to remain closed for two weeks until repairs were completed. The hailstorm also wiped out around 4000 acres of cotton crop, with several million dollars of loss estimated. Graham County issued a disaster declaration in the wake of the storm.

Wider weather episode

An upper level shortwave trough moving through the region ignited severe thunderstorms which produced large hail and flash flooding in the Safford area.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.8045, -109.7277)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 662825. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.