Flash Flood, Maricopa
- When
- August 18, 9:18 PM MST
- Where
- Maricopa County, Scottsdale
- Coordinates
- 33.349, -112.491 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Arizona, August 18, 1996
Indian Bend wash, which is normally dry, flooded quickly and forcedtwo roads to close. There was a report of street flooding at Scottsdale Road and McDowell Road.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PSR wrote it up.
Thunderstorms produced heavy rain as they moved through Scottsdale.Indian Bend wash, which is normally dry, flooded quickly and forcedtwo roads to close. There was a report of street flooding at Scottsdale Road and McDowell Road. A spotter in South Scottsdale reported a storm total of .80 inches of rainfall. Wind gusts to 45 mph accompanied the storms.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flood in South Carolina, August 18, 1996
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, August 18, 1996
- Hail in New Mexico, August 18, 1996
- Tornado in Maryland, August 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, August 18, 1996
- Waterspout in Florida, August 18, 1996
- Flood in Arizona, August 18, 1996
- Flood in Arizona, August 18, 1996
- Hail in Utah, August 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Mississippi, August 18, 1996
- Tornado in Illinois, August 18, 1996
More
Every storm in Arizona in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, August 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5575348.