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Tucson has had its share of momentous monsoon storms over the years. Here are some that grabbed the Star's headlines — and our attention:

• July 11, 1878: More than 5 inches of rain falls in 70 minutes, sending a "roaring sea of water" down Tucson's streets. "Buildings were washed out, walls torn down and families were fleeing for safety in great alarm," reports the Star.

• Aug. 9, 1945: Floodwaters from thunderstorms overflow a normally dry wash on Tucson's South Side, tearing out a 15-foot gap in the Three-Mile Bridge on the Benson Highway. Four cars plunge into the waters. Ten people drown, while four others struggle to safety.

• Aug. 15, 1952: "A giant wall of water" caused by a cloudburst over Davis-Monthan Air Force Base floods more than 20 homes and maroons 2,000 people at a church bingo game.

• Aug. 11, 1956: Two-year-old Wayne Saufley is swept to his death down a flood-washed arroyo following one of the heaviest rains of the summer.

• July 26, 1973: Lightning from thunderstorms strikes five people, including a softball player at Santa Rita Park. One person is killed.

• July 24, 1975: "Near-hurricane-strength winds" slash through Tucson, causing more than $2 million in damage. Power lines go down in 100 locations and more than 675 lightning strikes are recorded.

• July 26, 1981: Eight people lose their lives when a flash flood sweeps them over Tanque Verde Falls. It takes five days to find and recover all of the victims. (See related article.)

• July 4, 1991: A Tucson woman and her 11-month-old daughter are killed when lightning strikes them near the Sabino Canyon Visitor Center.

• Aug. 15, 1994: A severe thunderstorm dumps 3 inches of rain in an hour over Northwest Tucson, tearing eight roofs off houses, stranding more than a dozen motorists in flooded washes and uprooting a 35-foot fig tree and dumping it into a nearby swimming pool.

• Aug. 28, 1998: "Pole-snapping, tree-felling winds" rake Tucson, knocking out power to 20,000 homes and businesses.

• July 25, 2003: A 200-year-old saguaro that survived a year after being transplanted for a new road is hit by lightning and felled by a thunderstorm.

• Aug. 14, 2003: Runoff linked to the Aspen Fire sweeps Oracle newspaper publisher Jim Huntington to his death down Campo Bonito Wash.

• Aug. 25, 2003: About 40 homes are evacuated after heavy rain floods the Cañada del Oro Wash near Catalina, north of Tucson. A week later, the Pima County Board of Supervisors announces its intent to buy most of the homes.

• July 31, 2006: Record floods sweep through Sabino Canyon, washing out the road and trails and causing numerous rock slides.

• Aug. 4, 2007: Flash floods strand 50 hikers and a wall of water sweeps two of them to their deaths near Seven Falls in the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. Helicopters fly out most of the survivors.

Additional sources: The National Weather Service, and "Arizona Climate: The First Hundred Years," edited by William D. Sellers and others.