Phoenix receives record breaking rainfall..Gov declares state emergency

Sky Harbor International reported 3 inches of rainfall since midnight. Other parts of the state 5 inches in just a matter of hours. Think about it this way we average 8 inches a year, some places got 5 inches in six hours. Marking the wettest day in Arizona on record since we started recording it in 1895. Lakes and pools around the valley are overflowing. Streets are closed. Entire freeways have been turned into rivers. This is the first ever rain day in Arizona. Schools and businesses shut down because the roads are to dangerous. And were expecting more rain in a few hours. Wish i knew how to post pictures instead of just links but check out the damage yourself..

Don't get me wrong though....we always need the rain.

q13fox.com...

online.wsj.com...

Know you guys need the water, but WOW......just W.O.W.

If you're anywhere in or near the affected area, please be careful. I've been caught in a flash flood before at night on a rural road. The driver just thought it was a wet roadway until water started gushing up through the Toyota's floorboard. We were lucky to escape alive.

WOW, never imagined Phoenix to look like this, not even during a typical monsoon season. Apparently one woman died in her SUV at a flashflood point. How horrible that must have been for her.

www.latimes.com...

Never been to Phoenix, but I'm shocked to see it flooded.

FLASH FLOOD WATCH in effect

Portions of East-central Arizona and South-central Arizona. Including the following areas, in East-central Arizona, southern Gila County/tonto National Forest foothills. In South-central Arizona, Greater Phoenix area and Northwest Maricopa County. Until 5 pm MST this afternoon. Showers and thunderstorms are moving east of the Phoenix metro area late this morning. Flooding of roads will continue through this afternoon. Many local roads and some major interstates remain closed late this morning. Stay Up-to-date on the latest forecasts by listening to weather radio on the public service band. More detailed information is available from the National Weather Service in Phoenix on the Internet at weather.gov/phoenix.

NOAA

Yea its pretty wild, we lost 2 work trucks downtown.

I death in Tucson and a dam is in within inches of overtopping, residents should move to higher ground

Earlier on Monday, at least one person was killed in Tucson when a vehicle was washed away by floodwaters, according to KVOA.com.

Source

"The richest plume of moisture from former Hurricane Norbert is pointing straight north through the Lower Colorado River Valley and into southern Nevada. Rainfall has been wildly variable but over 1 inch of rain fell in a short time in the southwest part of the Las Vegas Valley Monday," said weather.com meteorologist Nick Wiltgen. "More troubling were the storms northeast of the city; one gauge reported 2 inches of rain in 30 minutes north of Moapa. This is an extreme amount of rain for a desert environment. NOAA estimates this type of rainfall should happen once every 500 to 1,000 years in that area, assuming no climate change."

Las Vegas as well

Record rain produced dangerous flash floods that swamped freeways and residential areas in the Las Vegas and Phoenix metro areas on Monday. In Nevada, life-threatening flash flooding was reported in Moapa, about 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas on Monday afternoon and a flash flood emergency was declared for the area. The National Weather Service in Las Vegas said in a statement that a dam in the community was within inches of overtopping. Residents were advised to seek higher ground.

FLASH FLOOD WARNING for Clark county Nevada
The National Weather Service in Las Vegas has issued a Flash Flood Warning for: Central Clark County in Southern Nevada.

Until 6:30 pm PDT.
At 3:20 pm PDT, National Weather Service Doppler radar indicated flash flooding from a thunderstorm near Spring Mountain Ranch, or near Red Rock Canyon. Over a half of an inch of rain is expected in this area. This will cause new areas of flash flooding or wash any mud and rocks still on streets from earlier today around especially in the southwest part of the Las Vegas Valley.
Locations impacted include: Red Rock Canyon, Downtown Las Vegas, Red Rock Canyon campground, Rocky Gap campground, Spring Valley, Mccarran International Airport, the strip and Unlv.

The National Weather Service in Las Vegas has issued a Flash Flood Warning for: Central Clark County in Southern Nevada. Until 6:30 pm PDT. At 3:20 pm PDT, National Weather Service Doppler radar indicated flash flooding from a thunderstorm near Spring Mountain Ranch, or near Red Rock Canyon. Over a half of an inch of rain is expected in this area. This will cause new areas of flash flooding or wash any mud and rocks still on streets from earlier today around especially in the southwest part of the Las Vegas Valley. Locations impacted include: Red Rock Canyon, Downtown Las Vegas, Red Rock Canyon campground, Rocky Gap campground, Spring Valley, Mccarran International Airport, the strip and Unlv.

Southern Nevada is getting hit by the same system, which is a mix of Hurricane Norbert precipitation plus monsoon weather. Few more links. Top one is basically 4.36 inches of rain having fallen in 6 hours in an area that typically receives an average of 6.5 inches of rain for the entire year.

twitter.com...

www.weather.com...

mashable.com...

Flash Flood Emergency Declared Near Las Vegas; Flash Flood Threat Continues In Nevada, Arizona, California, Utah
Weather.com
Correction it's 5 states California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Colorado

According to NOAA's precipitation frequency estimate, this heavy a precipitation event in a six-hour time period has only a 0.002 percent chance of occurring in any given year. The roof of a Fry's Marketplace reportedly collapsed in Tempe, and there was a report of an evacuation of an apartment at Arizona State University. One spotter in Chandler, Arizona, measured 5.63 inches of rain as of 10 a.m. MST. The desert terrain is already incapable of holding several inches of water, but when heavy rainfall hits urban areas in the southwest – developed and covered in concrete, which doesn't absorb water, either – a catastrophic situation can occur. The threat is expected to continue through Monday, and the NWS has issued flash-flood watches for parts of five states – California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Colorado. Early Monday morning, a large cluster of storms was centered over Arizona, forcing the NWS to issue flood warnings for some parts of the state.

Wunderground

UPDATE: Two dead

Terrible way to die. Flash floods can happen so quickly

At least two people died in the flooding, including a woman who was swept away in her car by rushing water and became trapped against a bridge. In addition, a 76-year-old woman drowned in floodwaters.

Source

originally posted by: graceunderpressure

If you're anywhere in or near the affected area, please be careful. I've been caught in a flash flood before at night on a rural road. The driver just thought it was a wet roadway until water started gushing up through the Toyota's floorboard. We were lucky to escape alive.

That was on the west side of town. The east side wasn't much better. I drive for a living in Phoenix and it started at roughly 2:30 in the morning. By 8:30 it was still coming down with the same force. It was coming down hard. Six hours straight of that stuff. Valleywide. When you consider that the Valley of the Sun is a little over 500 square miles in size and every single area was affected............ I've been here since '87 and I've never seen a storm like that. It was bad.

It got to the point where they were advising people just to call out and not go to work. Why bother trying? Every single freeway, the I-10, I-17, the 51, 60, 101, 202, 303.......everything had flooded areas which made them impassible, so the surface streets near them were packed to the gills with the curb lanes becoming mini-rivers. Yesterday was a real pain in the neck.

More rain in the forecast today, but not nearly as much projected. Looking back over the past few months, it's been a pretty active monsoon season statewide. Which is good, we need it.

a reply to: Taupin Desciple

Is it looking a little better out there today, Taupin? Sad to say, I'm glad you guys got that rain, too, as it was much needed for sure. Just would've been so much better if it was a little less at one time. I don't recall a 6 hour downpour out there while I was living in AZ. I remember a few downpours that forced me to pull over due to lack of visibility but those were short bursts really. Never would have imagined Phoenix flooding on that scale. Maybe a flashflood here or there but not every freeway. Phoenix is huge for those who haven't been there. Very sprawling city.