Storms roll through Phoenix metro area; flash flood warnings issued

Storms rolled through the Phoenix metro area late Thursday afternoon from multiple directions, dropping heavy rain on a large swath of the region, along with high winds and localized flooding.

The storms caused heavy street flooding, power outages and extensive flight delays at Sky Harbor International Airport.

And after things had calmed down, the National Weather Service tweeted a little before 8 p.m. that radar and photographs confirmed a brief landspout tornado had formed in the skies just south of downtown Phoenix.

The National Weather Service in Phoenix began issuing severe thunderstorm warnings for the northeast Valley just before 4 p.m., and those advisories later were extended to the southeast Valley and northern and northwestern areas as multiple storms began moving into the region.

A flash-flood warning also was issued until 8:30 pm. for Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale.

By 5 p.m., rain was falling throughout much of the metro area, with some of the heaviest initial rain totals in a corridor along Interstate 17 in north Phoenix, areas near Paradise Valley and in Tempe.

Storms also brought rain to much of central Phoenix and areas of the northwest Valley.

The Flood Control District of Maricopa County reported rainfall totals from the storm, including 1.85 inches at Papago Park; 1.26 inches near Broadway and GIlbert roads in Mesa; 1.3 inches near Mesa’s Dobson Ranch area; 1.89 at Thomas Road and 48th Street in Phoenix; 1.3 at Apache Boulevard and Rural Road in Tempe; and 1.73 near 64th Street and Osborn Road in Scottsdale.

At the the height of the storms, Arizona Public Service had about 15,000 customers without power, many of them in northeast and east Phoenix, officials said. About half of those were restored within two hours.

Another 5,000 customers in the Phoenix area and 1,600 in Tonopah, west of Phoenix, were without power after 8 p.m. The company expected power to be restored to them by 11 p.m.

Fifteen power poles were down in an area along Shea Boulevard east of 32nd Street, which closed Shea into Thursday night while APS crews worked to make repairs.

Salt River Project officials said about 10,000 customers were without power at the height of the storm in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Chandler, Tempe, Ahwatukee, Guadalupe and Fountain Hills. About 4,000 still were without power around 8:30 p.m.

Power was expected to be restored to most customers by 11:30 p.m. However, an area near 44th Street and Thomas Road could take longer, the company said.

At Sky Harbor, all incoming and departing flights were stopped about 5:15 p.m. The stoppage remained in effect for nearly an hour before flights resumed after 6 p.m., said Julie Rodriquez, airport spokeswoman.

She said delayed flights were expected for several hours and advised travelers and those picking up someone to contact airlines for the latest flight status.

Adding to the misery was a blown manhole cover that flooded some lanes at Terminal 4.

Phoenix fire officials reported they were responding to a report of an elderly couple stranded in a wash near Cave Creek and Pinnacle Peak roads. Further details were not immediately available.

Extensive street flooding slowed traffic in numerous areas. On U.S. 60 in Tempe, eastbound lanes were flooded between Mill Avenue and McClintock Drive shortly after 6 p.m., bringing rush-hour traffic to a standstill.

Heavy rain caused part of a roof to collapse at a Mor Furniture store near the 44th Street and McDowell Road, the Phoenix Fire Department said.

About 25 square feet of the roof broke open, flooding the Mor Furniture store and a neighboring Food City, fire officials said. No one was injured.

Elsewhere, numerous trees were reported down in areas of east Phoenix and the southeast Valley, which were among the hardest-hit areas.

Paul Iniguez, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Phoenix, said storms popping up in different areas around Phoenix merged over parts of the Valley, causing the heavy downpours.

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