Monsoon season: Thunderstorms and dust rock Phoenix area Friday night
Jul 29, 2016, 7:52 PM | Updated: Jul 30, 2016, 2:08 pm
(Twitter photo)
Thunderstorms ran rampant all over Arizona Friday night, with Phoenix also receiving some of the impact.
SRP’s outage map at one point showed over 17,000 outages south and east of Phoenix, including parts of Scottsdale, Mesa and Chandler.
About 17,000 customers currently without power due to #azwx outages. Customer service reps available 24/7 to report issues: 602-236-8888
— Salt River Project (@SRPconnect) July 30, 2016
As the storms approached the cities of Phoenix and Scottsdale around 5:00 p.m., the National Weather Service issued thunderstorm warnings for both cities and a large portion of the state to the south for six hours.
A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for parts of Arizona until 11 PM MST pic.twitter.com/XAeuNDJqEr
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) July 29, 2016
Severe thunderstorm warnings and dust storm warnings began to hit the Phoenix area before 8:00 p.m. as the storms arrived in Phoenix and nearby cities.
Big raindrops starting to hit South Tempe #Monsoon2016 #abc15wx pic.twitter.com/NLPV8YYF2S
— Tyson Milanovich (@TysonOnTV) July 30, 2016
Blowing dust, lightening & heavy rains make for dangerous driving conditions. Pull over & stay safe #phxstorm pic.twitter.com/3G31G7xEiC
— Phoenix Water (@PHXWater) July 30, 2016
NOW: Blowing dust on I-10 near Wild Horse Pass. Delay travel. #azwx #AZTraffic pic.twitter.com/1A3eEVzpMb
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) July 30, 2016
Then the wind hit… Hard! #Tempe #Monsoon2016 #abc15wx pic.twitter.com/lPm9U8Umo5
— Tyson Milanovich (@TysonOnTV) July 30, 2016
Later in the night there were flood advisories for most of the Valley.
830p Flood Advisory for much of the Valley…Please do not cross flooded roads! Turn Around, Don't Drown. #azwx pic.twitter.com/ta53ycmBTS
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) July 30, 2016
The warnings indicated the storm would be in the Valley until at least 11:00 p.m., but NWS changed their thunderstorm warning to just 9:00 p.m. and cancelled their dust storm warning. The storms moved and developed to the southwest of Phoenix.
APS reported multiple outages that hit more than 1,000 customers in both Yarnell and Yuma earlier in the day before the storms would hit Phoenix.
1,200 customers are w/o power in Yuma. Boundaries: US95 – Rosewood & 14th Ave – 8th Ave. Crew on site. More info at https://t.co/42Ikw5hxc7
— APS (@apsFYI) July 29, 2016
Early in the night, the storm approached from all parts of eastern Arizona, north and south, eventually hitting the cities.
Storms north and east of the Valley. Chances of t-storms remains into tonight #azwx pic.twitter.com/3L3O1qZqid
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) July 30, 2016
Storms moving closer to the Valley. Biggest threats incl strong winds and heavy rains. #azwx pic.twitter.com/QGGOEeW7FM
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) July 30, 2016
820p Strong storms in the Valley and Pinal County. Strong winds and heavy rains are likely! Stay indoors. #azwx pic.twitter.com/yop0alyzPQ
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) July 30, 2016
Temperatures in Phoenix were nearly 30 degrees cooler than Thursday night.