National Weather Service, Mesa city officials reflect on 2014 floods

2014 hurricane remnants shape Valley flood preparations

Cars half-submerged in water and neighborhoods transformed into temporary rivers are images that are difficult for long-time Valley residents to forget. FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz reports.

Cars half-submerged in water and neighborhoods transformed into temporary rivers are images that are difficult for long-time Valley residents to forget.

The scenes from September 2014 were the result of a rare weather event in the desert.

What we know:

Gabriel Lojero with the National Weather Service in Phoenix said it was a remnant moisture plume from Hurricane Norbert, which was off the Eastern Pacific, that caused the widespread flooding.

"That amount of rain in such a short amount of time, and especially in a desert area that cannot hold on to as much rain, you get major flash flooding," Lojero said.

Dig deeper:

The city of Mesa was particularly hard hit, with about 200 homes damaged in the flooding.

"We looked at a lot of the rain gauges that registered well over a thousand-year event for a lot of our cities," said Lance Webb, a city of Mesa engineer.

Webb said the city has taken a more proactive approach in the 11 years since the event to prevent a repeat of history.

"I can think of probably upward of about 30 different areas throughout the city that we've worked to address," he said.

The city has also added nearly 30 more rain gauges to its system, improving its ability to monitor rainfall and respond to areas that may need attention during the monsoon season.

While Lojero does not expect the weather in the coming days to be as severe as in 2014, he warned that people across the Valley should remain attentive.

"Thunderstorms, you know, they're hit or miss in nature," Lojero said. "So some areas may get hit really hard, but then areas nearby may miss out on the heavy rainfall."