Storm causes roadway flooding, closures
Jul 21, 2013, 11:11 AM | Updated: Jul 22, 2013, 6:43 am
A storm that rolled through metropolitan Phoenix on Sunday morning brought about a half-inch of rain, caused flooding in some washes and prompted the closure of several roadways.
No injuries were reported.
The Arizona Department of Transportation said flooding closed U.S. 60 in both directions between Kyrene Road and Mill Avenue in Tempe.
There is flooding on Interstate 10 east from the tunnel to beyond 15th Avenue. The two right lanes were blocked but are now open again but still wet. ADOT recommends taking I-17 south if trying to head to the East Valley.
There was a backup on the southbound SR 51 stemming from a one-car crash blocking the HOV lane near Bethany Home Road. There was also flooding in the right lane southbound near Highland, but all lanes remained open.
Around noon, eastbound Shea Boulevard was closed from 64th to 70th streets because of flooding; the westbound side has one lane open. McCormick Parkway was closed from 73rd to 75th streets, the Scottsdale Police Department said.
On I-40 east, there was rollover crash involving a motorhome about three miles west of SR 95 (milepost 7). The right lane was also closed about 10 miles east of US 93 (mile 83.)
Also, State Route 238 was closed west of the town of Maricopa because of flooding. The closure began at Waterman Wash (milepost 24).
The National Weather Service issued an alert for north-central Pinal County. A strong thunderstorm moved northwest at 30 mph. Wind gusts up to 40 mph were expected, as was lightning and a 1/2- to 3/4-inch of rain.
Areas north of Tucson also were seeing rain on Sunday. A flood advisory was issued for an area 15 miles southwest of Kearny.
On Saturday, southeast Tucson experienced flash flooding from a storm that brought about three-fourths of an inch of rain.
The storm led to several downed electric power lines in Tucson and two water rescue efforts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
