Weather

Rain, wind and dust arrived in the Valley late Wednesday night.

Hurricane Kiko has intensified into a Category 2 storm with winds of 105 mph as it tracks westward across the Pacific.

A chance of isolated evening storms is in the forecast for the Valley tonight, but most of the area will remain dry with temperatures dropping to the mid-80s.

Before monsoon storms rolled in, hundreds of people celebrated Labor Day with a final summer splash at Lake Pleasant, with many taking advantage of the day off work and school to enjoy the sun and water.

Evacuations were lifted for the Billy Fire burning near Young, Arizona in Gila County as containment grows.

The Washington Fire was sparked by lightning on Aug. 13 one mile northwest of Washington Park in the Payson Ranger District. The fire has burned 515 acres and is 100% contained.

The Dragon Bravo Fire is now the largest wildfire ever recorded in the Grand Canyon, burning more than 145,000 acres.

A powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday, killing at least 800 people and injuring more than 2,500.

An eruption of charged material from the Sun will create vivid displays of Northern Lights as far south as the Midwest on Labor Day, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

Fall might not officially begin until Sept. 22 with the autumnal equinox, but meteorologists and climatologists actually consider Sept. 1 the beginning of autumn.

Showers and thunderstorms are moving southwest across the High Country and toward the deserts on Monday evening.