Wettest day in Phoenix in 7 years, impacting travel, electricity

Heavy rain has been reported all over the Valley.

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Monsoon storms brought golf-ball-sized hail and heavy rain, causing travel headaches for people on the road and in the air.

As of 5 p.m., over 410 Arizona Public Service (APS) customers are without power in the Valley For Salt River Project (SRP), over 7,400 Maricopa County customers don’t have power. Most of the outages were reported in the Apache Junction and Sun City areas.

A ground stop at Phoenix Sky Harbor on Friday is expected to last until 4:30 p.m., except for American Airlines. The ground stop for that airline will keep going until 6 p.m. Flights were diverted to Los Angeles, Albuquerque, New Mexico, El Paso, Texas, Salt Lake City and Denver.

Phoenix Sky Harbor has received 1.11″ of rain so far on Friday. That’s the most rain in one day since Oct. 13, 2018, when the airport got 2.19″

At about 2:40 p.m., Arizona State University announced it was canceling Sparky’s Tailgate due to severe weather. As of now, the Sun Devils’ game against TCU is still on schedule.

Strong thunderstorms hit Valley-wide during the afternoon. As of 4 p.m., several portions of Arizona remain under a flash flood warning.

The National Weather Service Phoenix has issued a flash flood and severe thunderstorm warning for a majority of the Valley, including Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale and Fountain Hills.

Areas like Anthem, Rio Verde, Sunflower and New River are also under flash flood warnings. A ground stop is back in place for departures at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Ground delays are also expected until 7 p.m.

A spokesperson with Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport says 10 flights were diverted to other airports during the initial ground stops earlier Friday.

Just before 10 a.m., rain began falling in the West Valley. Traffic cameras showed slick roads on the Loop 303 and Interstate 10. Pea-sized hail began falling near 7th and Missouri avenues.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is advising drivers to check their windshield wipers, slow down and not drive in pooling water.

An area of low pressure has moved into Southern California and is expected to be stationary for the next few days, pulling abundant moisture up into Arizona.

A flood watch is in effect for much of the southern half of the state today, including in the Valley from 8 a.m. through this evening. Storms today are capable of not just heavy rain that could lead to flash flooding, but also large hail, strong winds and dangerous lightning.

Chances for storms are higher in the higher elevations today, particularly Yavapai County in northern Arizona, and also across eastern Arizona. Southern Gila County, along with eastern portions of Maricopa and Pinal Counties, also have higher storm chances.

Storm chances linger Saturday and Sunday across Arizona before the low pressure system finally pulls out of the area. Look for a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms in the Valley on Saturday and a 20% chance on Sunday.

Cooler temperatures are also expected over the next few days. Look for a high of just 94 degrees today and only near 90 degrees Saturday and Sunday. A gradual warm-up, along with drier weather is expected next week.

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