Flash Flooding and Flooding in Arizona, October 2, 2018

Copious amounts of deep tropical moisture spread into the greater Phoenix area during the morning hours on October 2nd; the moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa. The deep moisture resulted in widespread moderate to heavy showers, some of which affected the community of Surprise. The heavy showers quickly caused significant street flooding as well as flash flooding. At 0741MST a trained spotter in Surprise reported major street flooding at the intersection of Bell Road and Litchfield Road. A very large Flash Flood Warning was issued at 0730MST that encompassed the town of Surprise and it ran through 1030MST.

Copious amounts of deep tropical moisture spread into the greater Phoenix area during the morning hours on October 2nd; the moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa. The deep moisture resulted in widespread moderate to heavy showers. Many locations picked up 2 to 3 inches of rain during this event with much of the rain occurring in the morning. The heavy rain led to numerous episodes of flash flooding including many road closures across the central and northern portion of the Phoenix area. According to the Arizona Department of Highways, at 0732MST flash flooding resulted in a road closure at the intersection of Interstate I-17 and Peoria Avenue, about 5 miles northeast of Glendale. Additionally it was reported that one of the underpasses was flooded. No reports of accidents were received. A very large Flash Flood Warning was issued at 0730MST and it remained in effect until 1030MST; the warning included the area around Glendale.

Copious amounts of deep tropical moisture spread into the central portions of the greater Phoenix area during the morning hours on October 2nd; the moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa. The deep moisture led to widespread moderate to heavy showers and many locations in the greater Phoenix area picked up 1 to 3 inches of rain. The heavy rain led to episodes of flash flooding which forced multiple schools to close. According to a county official, at 0800MST flash flooding forced the Rio Vista Elementary School to close. The school was located near McDowell Road and 99th Avenue, about 2 miles northwest of Tolleson. At nearly the same time, broadcast media reported that the Desert Horizon Elementary School was closed due to severe flash flooding. The school was located near Indian School Road and 83rd Avenue, about 3 miles northeast of Tolleson and just north of Interstate 10. A very large Flash Flood Warning was issued at 0730MST and remained in effect through 1030MST; the warning encompassed both of the schools. No injuries were reported due to the flash flooding.

Copious amounts of tropical moisture spread north and into the greater Phoenix area during the morning hours on October 2nd. The moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa and it led to widespread moderate to heavy showers that affected the town of Chandler. The heavy rain led to episodes of flash flooding. According to the Phoenix police, at 1015MST flash flooding resulted in the closure of Chandler Boulevard and 51st Street, about 4 miles south of the town of Guadalupe. A Flash Flood Warning was issued for the area at 0730MST and was in effect at the time of the flooding.

Copious amounts of tropical moisture spread north and into south Phoenix during the morning hours on October 2nd. The moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa and led widespread moderate to heavy showers; some locations picked up between 2 and 3 inches of rain. According to a trained spotter 3 miles northwest of Guadalupe, 2.6 inches of rain fell during the morning hours. The heavy rain resulted in episodes of flash flooding. At 1015MST, the Phoenix Police Department reported that flash flooding closed Baseline Road at 7th Street. Shortly thereafter, at 1032MST, the City of Phoenix reported that 19th Avenue was closed between Dobbins Road and South Mountain Avenue due to the flash flooding. A Flash Flood Warning was issued for the area at 0730MST and remained in effect through 1030MST. No accidents or injuries were reported due to the flooding or road closures.

Widespread moderate to heavy showers developed across the community of Scottsdale during the morning hours on October 2nd; the heavy showers were aided by an infusion of deep tropical moisture from former hurricane Rosa. The intense rains led to episodes of flash flooding on the Indian Bend Wash. At 0830MST, the City of Scottsdale emergency manager reported that all unbridged crossings of Indian Bend Wash were closed due to the flash flooding; this especially affected the wash between Indian School Road and Thomas Road. A very large Flash Flood Warning at 0730MST which included Scottsdale and it remained in effect through 1030MST.

Copious amounts of deep tropical moisture spread north into the greater Phoenix area during the morning hours on October 2nd; the moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa. The moisture led to widespread moderate to heavy showers and many areas picked up between 1 and 3 inches of rain. The heavy rain resulted in episodes of morning flash flooding, which impacted communities west of Phoenix such as Goodyear. According to the City of Goodyear Emergency Manager, flash flooding resulted in the closure of Citrus Road between Van Buren Street and Roosevelt Street. The road was reported closed at 1004MST. A Flash Flood Warning was issued for the area at 0730MST and the warning remained in effect through 1030MST, although heavy rains continued into the afternoon hours.

Copious amounts of tropical moisture spread north and into the greater Phoenix metropolitan area during the morning hours on October 2nd; the moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa. The deep moisture led to widespread moderate to heavy showers that affected north Phoenix and areas around Deer Valley and caused episodes of flash flooding. According to a report from local broadcast media, at 0930MST a car became stuck in a flooded wash about 3 miles southeast of Deer Valley. The driver of the car was rescued by the Phoenix Fire Department. The rescue took place south of Bell Road, east of Interstate 17 and near Moon Valley Park. Fortunately the driver was not injured. A Flash Flood Warning was in effect for the area at the time of the rescue.

Copious amounts of tropical moisture spread north into the greater Phoenix area during the morning hours on October 2nd; the moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa and led to the development of widespread moderate to heavy showers. The heavy rains led to episodes of street flooding and flash flooding across central and northern portions of the Phoenix area including the community of Paradise Valley. According to the City of Paradise Valley Emergency Manager, as of 1016MST many streets in Paradise Valley were closed due to flash flooding. Some of the more significant closures were in the area around the intersection of Tatum Boulevard and Lincoln Drive, about 2 miles west of Paradise Valley. No accidents were reported in the area. A Flash Flood Warning was issued earlier in the morning, at 0730MST, and remained in effect at the time of the flash flooding report.

Widespread moderate to heavy showers developed across the northern and central portions of the greater Phoenix area during the morning hours on October 2nd; they were aided by an infusion of deep tropical moisture associated with former hurricane Rosa. Many locations picked up between 1 and 3 inches of rain during the day and the heavy rain led to numerous episodes of street flooding and flash flooding. At 0900MST, the City of Scottsdale Emergency Manager reported that McCormick Parkway was closed between Hayden Road and Scottsdale Road, approximately 2 miles northeast of Paradise Valley. The road closure was due to the flash flooding. No accidents were reported in the area, fortunately. A Flash Flood Warning was issued most of the greater Phoenix area at 0730MST and it remained in effect through 1030MST.

Copious amounts of tropical moisture spread north and into the greater Phoenix metropolitan area during the morning hours on October 2nd. The moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa and it led to widespread moderate to heavy showers which affected the northern communities such as Deer Valley. Many locations received more than 2 inches of rain during the day and the heavy rain led to episodes of flash flooding. According to the City of Phoenix, at 1629MST the North Valley Parkway was closed between Dixileta Drive and Sonoran Desert Drive due to the flash flooding. The flooding was reported about 6 miles north of Deer Valley. No accidents were reported due to the flash flooding.

Widespread moderate to heavy showers developed across the central portions of Phoenix during the morning hours on October 2nd; the heavy showers were aided by an infusion of deep tropical moisture associated with former hurricane Rosa. The intense rain led to episodes of flash flooding resulting in numerous road closures. At 1018MST local broadcast media reported that 19th Avenue and McDowell Road was closed in both directions due to flash flooding. The flooding was significant enough to cause 2 cars to become stuck in the water. No injuries were reported fortunately. A Flash Flood Warning was issued for the area at 0730MST and was still in effect at the time of the flooding.

Copious amounts of tropical moisture spread north and into the greater Phoenix area during the morning hours on October 2nd; the moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa. The deep moisture resulted in widespread moderate to heavy showers developing over central and northern portions of the Phoenix area; many locations received between 1 and 3 inches of rain during the day with this event. The heavy rain led to episodes of flash flooding, including flooding in the Indian Bend Wash in Scottsdale. According to a report from local broadcast media, at 1105MST flash flooding in the Indian Bend Wash about 5 miles northwest of Paradise Valley caused numerous vehicles to become stranded on Tatum Boulevard, between Shea Boulevard and Cactus Road. The stranded vehicles required many people to be rescued. Fortunately no injuries were reported.

Copious amounts of tropical moisture spread north and into the greater Phoenix area during the morning hours on October 2nd; the moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa. The moisture resulted in the development of widespread moderate to heavy showers which persisted into the afternoon hours, and affected the central portion of the Phoenix area including the community of Glendale. Heavy rains led to episodes of flash flooding and flooding, causing many road closures and resulting in some street damage. According to a report from a local newspaper, at 1435MST a sink hole developed at the intersection of 35th Avenue and Cactus Roads, about 5 miles northeast of Glendale. The sinkhole was caused by flash flooding that occurred earlier in the day and resulted in the intersection becoming closed. A Flood Warning had been issued earlier in the morning for the area, but the warning expired shortly before the sinkhole was reported by the paper.

Copious amounts of tropical moisture spread north into the greater Phoenix area during the morning hours on October 2nd; the moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa. The moisture led to the development of widespread moderate to heavy showers which resulted in flash flooding during the morning hours across much of the western Phoenix area, including communities such as Avondale and Goodyear. By late morning flash flooding gave way to areal flooding and many roads became closed due to the flooding. According to a local emergency manager, at 1315MST Lower Buckeye Road was closed at the Agua Fria River due to flooding. This was about 1 mile east of Avondale. An Areal Flood Warning had been in effect for the area earlier and it expired at 1315MST. The flooding persisted into the afternoon; fortunately no accidents were reported.

Copious amounts of tropical moisture spread north and into the greater Phoenix area during the morning hours on October 2nd; the deep moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa. The moisture led to the development of widespread moderate to heavy showers that affected central portions of the Phoenix area including the community of Scottsdale. The heavy rain resulted in numerous episodes of street flooding and flash flooding; the flooding continued into the afternoon hours. Flash flooding took place along the Indian Bend Wash in Scottsdale and at 1333MST local broadcast media reported that a water rescue was underway near Miller Road and McDowell Road about 2 miles southeast of central Scottsdale. There were no reports of injuries to the drivers involved. Although a Flash Flood Warning was not in effect at the time, an Areal Flood Warning had been issued shortly before the rescue and remained in effect through 1500MST.

Widespread moderate to heavy showers developed over the northern and central portions of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area during the afternoon hours on October 2nd. The moisture was associated with former hurricane Rosa, and it led to numerous episodes of flash flooding and flooding during the day and into the early evening. Some of the flash flooding occurred over locations such as north Scottsdale. According to local broadcast media, at 1830MST flash flooding occurred on Highway 51 at Thunderbird Road, about 7 miles west of north Scottsdale. The flash flooding resulted in the closure of 3 lanes of traffic. About 10 minutes earlier, a trained spotter reported flooding to the south of Shadow Mountain Preserve; water was flowing over the curbs on Cactus Road between Cave Creek Road and 28th Street. A Flash Flood Warning was issued for the area at 1805MST and it remained in effect through 2100MST. No accidents were reported due to the flash flooding.

Widespread moderate to heavy showers and thunderstorms developed across the greater Phoenix area during the morning hours; the showers were aided by an infusion of deep tropical moisture from former hurricane Rosa. The showers persisted into the evening hours and affected the northern portions of the Phoenix area including communities such as Deer Valley and Scottsdale. According to a report from the public, 0.53 inches of rain fell in 30 minutes ending at 1830MST, and a total of 2.1 inches fell during the day. The heavy rain fell near the intersection of Bell Road and Highway 51, about 6 miles southeast of Deer Valley. At the same time, and in the same location a trained weather spotter reported curb to curb street flooding due to the heavy rains. No accidents were reported in the area.

Copious amounts of deep tropical moisture spread north into the greater Phoenix area, including higher terrain locations northeast of Phoenix, during the day on October 2nd. The deep moisture continued across the area into the evening and led to widespread moderate to heavy showers which affected the areas around Fountain Hills and led to an episode of flash flooding. According to a report from the general public, at 1922MST roads about 2 miles east of Fountain Hills were completely inundated by running water and were not passable. The flooded roads were shown via pictures on social media. A Flash Flood Warning was issued for the area at 1845MST and it remained in effect through 2145MST. No accidents were reported in the area due to the flooding.