Major part of Arizona sees rain, hail, flooding and delayed flights

Flooded, impassable roadways impact SR-188 near Roosevelt Lake

PHOENIX - Parts of Arizona, including Pinal and Maricopa counties, saw rainfall and wind gusts on the night of Oct. 4, and storms continued on Tuesday.

A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for much of Arizona through Tuesday night.

Earlier Tuesday, a Tornado Warning was issued for parts of Coconino County until 3 p.m. A Tornado Warning for Gila and Navajo counties was active until 3:30 p.m.

"A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Christopher Creek, or 9 miles west of Forest Lakes, moving northeast at 25 mph," read a portion of the warning.

On Tuesday night, NWS says the south Valley could experience wind gusts up to 60 mph.

Many flights at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport were either delayed or canceled due to hail falling over the airport.

On Tuesday afternoon, Salt River Project (SRP) listed over 17,000 customers were without power. Most of the customers have had their power restored as of Tuesday night.

You can check the power outage map and report an outage at https://myaccount.srpnet.com/power/myaccount/outages.

For Arizona Public Service (APS) customers, check http://outagemap.aps.com/outageviewer for their power outage map. Updates are posted every five minutes.

Heavy rainfall in Flagstaff

Areas in northern Arizona saw widespread rainfall for a good portion of Tuesday, NWS says.

During the rain, NWS said to be most concerned about impassable and muddy roads.

"Areas of rain with embedded thunder will continue across northern Arizona this morning, becoming more widespread into the afternoon," NWS Flagstaff tweeted. "Brief heavy downpours will be possible, be sure to slow down when traveling on wet roads."

Flooded, impassable roadways impact SR-188 near Roosevelt Lake

Debris, which is primarily mud on both lanes of the highway, shut down travel in both directions on Tuesday from mileposts 251 to 255. This isn’t the only area impacted – about a quarter mile up the road is more damage, causing travel in the area near Roosevelt Lake to be closed until further notice.

Lisa Voegtoy, a resident in the area, said, "When it rains, it really rains here."

For her, the heavy downpour didn’t affect her too much, but for those who live down the road, access won’t come easy to go in and out. "A lot of people live on that side," she said. "It’s like a main vein through here."

This isn't the only place dealing with the storm's impact.

Over in Cibecue, there was a tornado warning for the area and hail broke a car window.

"I heard a loud hit and my whole window just shattered," Jarret Dale said.

While monsoon season is over, meteorologist James Sawtell with the National Weather Service says severe weather in October isn’t uncommon.

"Octobers can vary a lot in terms of rainfall. You can have very moist Octobers because, for example, the hurricane season doesn’t end until November 30th. That’s one example of what can provide locally heavy rainfall and storm events in October with the remnants of a hurricane coming up from the south-southwest – that was not the case with storms today," he explained.

Road Conditions

Call 511 anywhere in Arizona or 1-888-411-ROAD (7623)
az511.com

Rain/flood safety tips

The American Red Cross' tips for heavy rain situations and flood safety:

Turn around don’t drown! If you must drive and you encounter a flooded roadway, turn around and go another way.
If you are caught on a flooded road and waters are rising rapidly around you, get out of the car quickly and move to higher ground.
Tune in to your local radio, NOAA radio, or news channels for the latest updates.
If your neighborhood is prone to flooding, be prepared to evacuate quickly.
Follow evacuation orders and do not attempt to return until officials say it is safe.
If power lines are down, do not step in puddles or standing water.
If power is out, use a flashlight. Do not use any open flame as alternate lighting.

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