Arizona Experiences Most Rain in State History

Anyone who has lived in the Phoenix area knows that with the summer comes a massive amount of haboobs, monsoons, and generally hectic weather. This year has been no exception. With a number of pretty dangerous dust, rain, and thunder storms, Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff have all been on high alert. Nothing, however, could have prepared the state for what happened today.

From approximately 1 AM to 9 AM this morning, Phoenix Sky Harbor estimated a record-breaking 3.29 inches of rain. This severe amount of rain sent the state into a full-on emergency mode. Roads and highways quickly became flooded, leading authorities to urge citizens to stay off the roads until the mess had been cleaned up. Multiple cars and motorcycles were left stranded on the freeways, as emergency evacuations took place.

There have also been reports of evacuation at the Arizona State University campus, as well as an emergency clean up for a collapsed roof at a Fry’s location in Tempe as flash flooding continued throughout the morning.

Multiple power outages have also been reported across the valley, as high winds and thunder have caused major power lines to snap and shut down.

This excess in rain and flooding has been caused by the Tropical Storm Norbert, which has pushed mass amounts of rain and thunderstorms to the western states including Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, and Utah.

For now, Maricopa residents have been forced to either evacuate their homes or begin the clean up process left over from the flooding. The rain and thunderstorms are predicted to continue throughout the northern areas of Arizona until tomorrow. Central Arizona counties will now have the ability to begin cleaning and recovering from the damages.

It is advised to use caution when traveling outside of the Phoenix areas, as many roadways are still undergoing massive amounts of cleanup.