Another wet one: Parts of Phoenix again left drenched by monsoon storm
Aug 3, 2016, 3:55 PM | Updated: 4:07 pm
In this photo taken Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, cars make their way through a flooded intersection in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Alan Clendenning)
(AP Photo/Alan Clendenning)
PHOENIX — For the third time this week, parts of the Phoenix area were left drenched by a monsoon storm on Wednesday.
The National Weather Service said parts of the US 60, which runs along the Mesa-Tempe-Gilbert border, were getting storms leading up to rush hour on Wednesday.
Your drive home on the US 60 will be wet in the East Valley. Use caution! #azwx pic.twitter.com/mgjST8tG5Q
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) August 3, 2016
Other areas in the southeast Valley were also getting rain.
Strong storms in the SE Valley. Attention if driving near Queen Creek #azwx pic.twitter.com/38fH0F2cgJ
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) August 3, 2016
Wednesday’s storms were unlikely to be as heavy as those seen in the Phoenix area on Tuesday.
Unusually heavy rains left most of the downtown area with lots of puddles and even closed down Interstate 17 at Indian School Road. The area under the overpass flooded.
It took hours for the highway to reopen.
Multiple streets were flooded around the city. Local fire departments conducted at least two water rescues.
APS’ outage map showed more than 2,000 customers without power in the Glendale and Phoenix area around 7:00 p.m.. SRP at one point had over 1,300 outages across the Valley.
Monday’s storms were also tame. Showers were reported across Phoenix, thought flooding was not widespread.
This week’s storms came during a period of “excessive” moisture in the air, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Hector Vasquez.
“We’re in the excessive … monsoon moisture, which only happens a few times during the summer,” he said.
The monsoon weather is expected to move out of the Phoenix area by the weekend.
“Thursday and beyond, it looks like a westerly flow is coming off the Pacific and it should push most of the thunderstorm activity into eastern Arizona by the weekend,” Vasquez said.
After the storms move away, the temperatures will increase. The weather service is calling for a high of 105 degrees on Friday.
For Detour Dan’s tips on how to drive in monsoon rains, check out the video below.
KTAR’s Jim Cross and Julie Levin contributed to this report.
