Hail in Pinal County, Arizona

Hail and strong winds ripped through the Coolidge area and damaged thousands of acres of cotton just weeks before it would have been harvested.. Trees were uprooted in Coolidge, and power poles were down in Coolidge and Florence. Heavy rain was also recorded at the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument where 2.02 inches fell in about 45 minutes. About 41 homes in Blackwater, on the Gila River Indian Community, had either roof damage, broken windows, or door and skirting damages.

Thunderstorms with very large hail developed to the southeast of the greater Phoenix area during the afternoon hours on October 21st. Some of the stronger storms produced hail with diameters well in excess of one inch and they affected the areas around the town of Coolidge. According to a report from the public, at 1628MST golf ball sized hailstones fell about 2 miles northeast of Coolidge and they resulted in property damage to a car and house window. At the nearby Lonestar Equestrian Center, the large hail caused minor injuries to some of the horses, and gashed the head of one of the cowboys during a roping contest. The center is located near the intersection of Attaway Road and Coolidge Avenue. The diameter of the largest hailstones was 1.75 inches. At the same time, local broadcast media reported additional large hail about 4 miles northeast of Coolidge. The media relayed a public report indicating that half-dollar sized hail had fallen in Valley Farms; the diameter of the largest hailstones was 1.25 inches.

An area of low pressure moving across Arizona acted upon elevated moisture and instability to produce scattered thunderstorms across the central deserts during the afternoon hours on October 18th. Some of the storms affected the community of Stanfield. According to a trained weather spotter, at 1436MST a strong storm dropped dime sized hail in Stanfield; the largest stones had a diameter of 0.75 inches. The large hail did not produce any damage.