Hail, heavy rain pelt parts of Valley during lunch hour
Mar 13, 2020, 3:00 PM | Updated: 5:29 pm
(KTAR News Photo/Ali Vetnar)
PHOENIX — Heavy rain and hail pelted parts of the Valley on Friday during lunch hour.
A flash flood warning was in effect for parts of Phoenix until 6:30 p.m. A flash flood watch has been issued until 8 p.m. for Maricopa County.
Flash Flood Warning continues for Glendale AZ, Tolleson AZ until 6:30 PM MST pic.twitter.com/hlh4c5lsNQ
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) March 13, 2020
The National Weather Service reported pea-sized hail in Deer Valley, Sun City West and Surprise in the early afternoon.
Surprise was also pelted with heavy rain, with some areas receiving up to 0.70 inches of rain in 10 minutes, NWS said.
Flooding closed eastbound traffic on Greenway Road under Interstate 17.
UPDATE: EB Greenway closed under I-17. WB lanes to follow soon. #phxtraffic pic.twitter.com/VFDX15vrFx
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) March 13, 2020
The heavy rain even caused some street flooding in Surprise, according to NWS.
Yes, there’s a #NationalEmergency due to the #CoronavirusPandemic… But it’s also raining/hailing/snowing in the West Valley right now. 😱 @KTAR923 #azwx pic.twitter.com/rbHDgYZeBR
— Ali Vetnar (@Ali_Vetnar) March 13, 2020
The afternoon rain was the continuation of a precipitation-filled week across the Valley.
Before Friday, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport had received 1.38 inches of rain since Tuesday.
By 2 a.m., the airport had received an additional 0.28 inches of rain.
It was the fourth consecutive day for more than a quarter inch of rain, the third time that’s happened in state history and first time since 1932.