Desert Storms in AZ.

[Jelly]

This don't look too good!

BBC Weather - Desert storms

I hope all you Arizonians are all OK.

 

[pismocycleguy]

I'm currently in Palm Springs, CA and we had a lot of rain, lighting, wind and flooding. We usually get 4" of rain annually, but had over 4" in 2 hours yesterday.
But, today is hot and beautiful!

This don't look too good!

BBC Weather - Desert storms

I hope all you Arizonians are all OK.

 

[PHX-AZ-700X]

I am in the Phoenix area (Mesa AZ to be precise). It's really not as bad as the news portrays it. The flooding is localized to very small sections of the Phoenix Metropolitan area; all the low-lying areas that have always had flooding issues. If you just watch the news coverage, they make it look like we should all be building a giant Ark to save all the animals. Yes, we did get nearly 4" of rain in only a few hours, but I would say that less than 5% of the roads were actually affected by it. It was a hell of a storm.

 

[JDE]

Glad to hear you're doing alright then. I'm so sick of how they have to exaggerate and over sensationalize everything no days. Gotta boost those ratings!!

 

[MZ5]

About half of my staff could not get to work yesterday, and a solid third had flooding of one sort or another in their homes. Some had water come in under the doors, 1 had a partial roof collapse, etc. All the freeways and many of the arterial streets were closed in many places on each one. On Interstate 10, water was standing 3 - 4 feet deep completely across the freeway in one area a ways west of downtown.

All of the roads where I live (extreme west edge of the metropolitan area, on high ground sloping up to the mountains) were covered in water, mud, gravel, plant material, and larger rocks. Some still are this evening, though they're all passable now, and they're mostly 'open' again. The water was essentially all gone by last night, but out here in the county we'll have this stuff on the roads for days.

So, though I do consider it 'not as horrific as the news may have implied,' it did cause significant damage.

Nevertheless, at least 2 people were killed down in Tucson as they were swept away by flash flood water. I don't recall any reports of anyone being killed in the Phoenix area.

 

[johnakay]

where there is river's/hills that is where your more likely to get floods

 

[SergeantChuck]

When I think about 3' to 4' standing water due to rainfall I don't think about Arizona. This isn't a common thing for your area is it? I feel bad for all the people with property damage and even worse for the few that have lost loved ones. Hopefully the damage can be repaired quickly. Be safe and take care.

 

[happy]

I live near a river (Reuss) and it overflows every summer more often now than ever before.
I guess it must be global warming or something?

 

[MZ5]

No, SgtChuck, it really isn't normal. Phoenix received half its average annual rainfall on Monday morning. The soil here is thin, with LOTS of rock underlying it. Also, what soil there is here is pretty heavy clay, rather than the coarse sand one thinks of (and often finds) in other areas of AZ. These factors combine to mean that rain just really doesn't soak in well. Combine that with heavy downpours and you get flash floods. Add in lots of buildings, pavement, and other things, and the amount of rain Norbert sent us made for some deep water for a little while.

 

[ziggie]

Looks like Indiana ,Ohio,Michigan ,getting bad stuff now.

 

[ItsPhilD]

This was my backyard the morning after the storm.