Thousands without power as monsoon storms blanket Valley

PHOENIX — Thousands across the Valley were without power Monday evening as the first monsoon storms of the season began to roll into Phoenix.

More than 10,000 SRP customers and 4,000 APS customers began losing power around 8:30 p.m., according to outage maps.

The outages were affecting customers in Phoenix, Glendale and Gilbert.

By early Tuesday, the numbers were down to less than 500 for APS and about 40 for SRP.

After monsoon storms, it is important to know who to call for street issues, traffic signal outages, and storm debris information. #PHXSummer https://t.co/1y6yALVLXD pic.twitter.com/Xs5p3IOwIq

— City of Phoenix, AZ (@CityofPhoenixAZ) July 23, 2019

Dust began rolling into the East Valley right around sundown, causing low visibility on roadways.

L-202 EB (San Tan) near Val Vista Drive: Looking a bit dusty out there … be prepared to stop or slow down. #aztraffic pic.twitter.com/QRZ1QICNnn

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) July 23, 2019

Rains soon followed, especially in the East Valley.

Some areas of Mesa recorded a half inch of rain between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

In north Phoenix, standing water on State Route 51 caused accidents and closed all northbound lanes at approximately 9:30 p.m. but was quickly reopened, according to ADOT.

UPDATE #3: All traffic must exit at Northern Avenue. No estimated time to reopen. https://t.co/K7tm60LzYI

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) July 23, 2019

This monsoon in Phoenix has been a light show with lots of rain ☔️ ⚡️⛈ #monsoon #desertrains #azmonsoon pic.twitter.com/aLe7WWUZkn

— Living in Arizona (@livingnarizona) July 23, 2019

The monsoon weather was a welcome sight across the Valley for most, though, because of a summer that has been drier than usual.

Monsoon activity is expected to continue throughout the week in the Valley, especially on Tuesday.

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