Monsoon storm brings heavy rain to parts of the Valley Friday night

PHOENIX — A storm passing across the Valley Friday night dropped upwards of two inches of rain, resulting in road closures and flash flooding.

Most rain gauges captured a quarter of an inch to two inches of rain, according to the Flood Control District of Maricopa County, while others in south and North Phoenix recorded more than two inches.

What a stormy evening! Rainfall amounts across south-central Arizona exceeded an inch over a good portion of the area with a few spots seeing up to 3 inches of rain. Here is a graphic showing rainfall amounts over the past 24 hours. #azwx pic.twitter.com/U7KGQ21bZa

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) August 14, 2021

“The average rainfall amount was 0.33 inches and the coverage across the Phoenix Valley was 97 percent,” James Sawtelle, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Phoenix, told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

Cities in the East Valley, including Chandler, Gilbert, and Tempe received less than an inch of rain, while one rain gauge in Phoenix was pelted with 2.95 inches of rain.

Additionally, there were just below 60,000 lightning flashes across all of south central Arizona, according to NWS.

From 7 PM Friday to 230 AM Saturday, there were 60,000 lightning flashes across central Arizona. #azwx pic.twitter.com/dliDBs9Jsi

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) August 14, 2021

Flooding has shut down access to State Route 238 in both directions between milepost 40 in Maricopa and State Route 85 in Gila Bend, ADOT said.

There is no estimated time for opening and ADOT advises drivers to seek an alternate route and expect delays.

Parts of the Interstate 17 closed for a few hours in both directions overnight due to standing water on the roadways. All closures near Indian School Road and at the Durango Curve began around 11 p.m. and were lifted by approximately 1:30 a.m.

*CLOSURE* *PLEASE SHARE*

I-17 is now CLOSED in both directions at Indian School Road due to the water on the roadway.

Expect delays and seek an alternate route.

There is no estimated time to reopen the highway.#phxtraffic #I17 #azwx pic.twitter.com/wiseEtagXj

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) August 14, 2021

Another chance of showers and thunderstorms are in the forecast late Saturday afternoon and in the evening across central Arizona, with the heaviest storms capable of producing rainfall heavy enough to lead to flash flooding, specifically south and east of Phoenix, according to NWS Phoenix.

“We have a 20 percent chance for some more storm activity today but that’s going to increase this evening and tonight up to about a 40 percent chance,” Sawtelle said.

There’ll be an increase chance of rain for the early part of this week, going into late Monday through early Wednesday, Sawtelle added.

Drivers are advised not to cross a flooded wash, even if it doesn’t look deep, because a few inches of running water could still pose a serious risk.

Commuters should reduce speed and maintain a safe distance between vehicles during storms, avoid sudden braking that can cause sliding on wet pavement, as well as reduce speed by slowly taking their foot off the gas pedal and braking steadily.

KTAR 92.3 FM’s Peter Samore contributed to this story.

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