Event narrative (NOAA)
Six to Seven inches of rain fell in the headwaters of Sabino and Bear Canyons on the south slopes of the Catalina mountains early in the morning. At one point 2 inches of rain in 20 minutes was recorded by a remote rain gage. Most of the rain fell over a three hour periof between 3 am and 6am. The river gage on Sabino Creek where the creek comes out of the mountains rose from 214 CFS at 6:15 AM to a peak flow of 10,600 CFS at 8:30 AM. The flow of 10,600 is the highest summer flow recorded by this rain gage which has a history back to 1932. The resulting food washed out much of the recreational facilities along the creek at the Sabino Canyon Recreation area. Between 10 and 20 people were evacuated by helicopter after being trapped when the water rose after they had entered the canyon. A l
Other notable flash flood events in Arizona
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Deaths and injuries are those NOAA classifies as direct. Damage is the reporting office's estimate at the time and is not inflation-adjusted. This is a catalogue record, not a forecast.