On this date in 2008, incredibly strong storms hit the Valley
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — On this date 16 years ago, some very strong thunderstorms hit the Valley.
But these were “not your typical monsoon thunderstorms,” as described by the National Weather Service Phoenix office.
On Aug. 28, 2008, winds were strong enough to destroy the ASU football practice field. In addition, the NWS Phoenix office said, “likely thousands of trees fell during this storm.”
A trained weather spotter measured an 85-mph wind gust near Phoenix, and Sky Harbor officially recorded a gust of 75 mph. Near the weather office in Tempe, it is estimated that an 80-mph gust occurred.
In addition to downed trees, roof and other structural damage reports spread across Phoenix, Tempe, and other parts of the Valley.
One of the most remarkable statistics from that day was the record-tying low temperature of 64 degrees. That is impressive in itself, but it’s even more impressive how the low temperature was reached.
At 9 p.m. on that evening, the Phoenix temperature was 90 degrees. By 10 p.m., the rain and winds from the thunderstorms had cooled the air down to 64 degrees!
That temperature drop, along with the damage, shows the power of those storms on that remarkable day in Arizona weather history.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
