Posted on 08/19/2014 3:58:43 PM PDT by george76
PHOENIX - Rescue crews were kept busy with several water rescues after a monsoon surge that brought extensive flooding to Arizona, trapped residents in their homes, closed a major freeway, and paralyzed traffic on several surface streets Tuesday morning.
A flash flood warning for Maricopa County and surrounding areas was extended until 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Structures were demolished, heavy equipment was carried away and ranches were covered by the raging waters in New River, where more than 4 inches of rain was reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at kpho.com ...
“New River”
Oh the irony.
Not as rare as one might think as my sister in Lake Havasu tells it.
I saw the results of torrential rains in the Phoenix area in the early 80's when flying overhead. Rather amazing i should say...
Love monsoon weather. We made sure we bought a house that the water drains away from. That being said, we are straddled by two arroyos. It’s happy time around here, a nice respite from the summer heat and dryness.
I feel for the people who are trapped. I hope they are doing okay and nothing icky comes floating by.
Exactly why they have canals out there.
I lived in Mesa in ‘85 ... we had a canal behind our house. Those monsoons were a very welcome site late in the afternoon when the heat was at it’s worst.
I was trapped earlier today, well not in the flood but up at Happy Valley where I couldnt leave as pretty much all of roads near where I live were washed out.
This Monsoon has been something else this year, it has felt more like Houston, a bit less humid, but it has just been sticky and muggy half the time. I am scared of Allergy season this year.
God Bless you and keep you safe. There is going to be more storms this week. What have you planned? I have a fear of drowning, so I feel for you.
This is the wettest and longest monsoon I can remember. My roses love it!
I have plenty of food and water and my ground is elevated so I am not too worried.
Does Mesa still get monsoons? I heard that the amount of heat trapped by the buildings and roads for the last decade has cause the precipitation to dry out before it hits the ground.
I live near the mountains and it is a joy to see the clouds sweep over and drop their payload.
I have lived in the Phoenix area for over 40 years. Back in the 80's the roads would be a mess and the canals would overflow. 35th Ave would turn into a virtual river due to any significant storm. Whole neighborhoods would be flooded.
The canals were made to distribute water so they lost capacity as you went downstream. This is not a good attribute for channels intended to divert water away.
Since then they have put in storm drains, at least in the northwest valley. Additionally, they have added a lot of open drainage ditches which are capable of carrying the water away.
You are right. Come back and visit, the Catalinas are green and the air has a lovely softness to it. And the Rillito River has water in it!
My husband has me on cellphone standby to pick him and dogs if the lightening starts.
Mesa/Chandler/Gilbert have been hit pretty hard this summer like usual. The storms that hit us in Chandler come up from Casa Grand and Queen Creek. Downtown Phoenix doesn’t seem to get as much because of the heat island effect. The northern parts of Phoenix have been torn to pieces this summer with lots of downed trees and power outages.
Same here in Cochise. It rained pretty good here.
Here is a link for a Nevada flood very recent. You may wish to post it. At least two dead.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.