Weekend wrap-up: Here are the biggest Arizona stories from Nov. 29-Dec. 1
Dec 1, 2019, 6:00 PM | Updated: 6:04 pm
(KTAR News Photo/Danny Shapiro)
(KTAR News Photo/Danny Shapiro)
Three tornadoes that shook up the Valley on Black Friday, a tragic flooding incident that left 2 children dead and another unaccounted for and a new community center in Mesa.
Here are some stories that headlined the news cycle, both locally and nationally, over the weekend.
NWS confirms 3 Valley tornadoes from Friday morning storms
Not one, not two, but three tornadoes touched down around the Valley early Friday morning.
“We, so far, have confirmed three separate tornadoes across the Valley,” National Weather Service Senior Meteorologist Larry Hopper told KTAR News 92.3 FM Friday night.
“One of which was in north-central Phoenix and two of which were down in the far southeastern portions of the Valley.”
While tornadoes aren’t a regular occurrence in the state, there’s usually a handful touching down each year.
Search continues for missing 6-year-old after Tonto Basin area flooding
Gila County Sheriff officials were searching for a 6-year-old girl after her family’s oversized military-style truck was swept away by flooding northeast of Phoenix on Friday.
Officials were attempting to locate the girl a day after her brother and cousin, both 5, were found dead near Tonto Basin.
“We’re still considering it an active search,” Gila County Sheriff Lt. Virgil Dodd said in a press conference on Sunday. “We’re very hopeful to find this little girl. We want to bring her home safely to her family.”
New park, community center set to open at old Mesa school site
A location that was once used as a place to learn and grow will serve that purpose once again as the Eagles Park and Eagles Community Center are set to open at the old Mesa Junior High School site.
The ribbon-cutting will be held on Dec. 7 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
“The City of Mesa is committed to providing our residents with fun and unique park concepts that ignite the imagination and encourage play,” Mesa Mayor John Giles said in a press release.
Amazon brings traveling carnival to Phoenix to promote latest film
Amazon is bringing its latest film to life with a free screening event.
In honor of the The Aeronauts’ upcoming release, Amazon will host a seven-city tour to show the film early ahead of its Dec. 20 release on Amazon Prime.
In honor of the film, the festival will feature a replica Mammoth Balloon where attendees can take a ride just like the movie.
The event will feature other attractions like a fly-in movie theater, hypnotist, cartoonist, tightrope walker and more.
Report: Elite US climber dies rappelling down rock face
California rock climber Brad Gobright reportedly reached the top of a highly challenging rock face in northern Mexico and was rappelling down with a companion when he fell to his death.
Climber Aidan Jacobson of Phoenix, Arizona, told Outside magazine he was with Gobright, and said they had just performed an ascent of the Sendero Luminoso route in the El Potrero Chico area near the northern city of Monterrey.
Jacobson also fell, but a shorter distance, after something went wrong in the “simul-rappelling” descent, the magazine said.
