Very heavy rainfall occurred over portions of the Phoenix metropolitan area during the day on Tuesday August 19. The heaviest rainfall began early Tuesday morning around 6 am around Carefree, Cave Creek, Anthem, and New River. Conditions deteriorated quickly as storms expanded and intensified, with numerous reports of flooded streets and underpasses by 7 am. Numerous swift-water rescues occurred later in the morning around New River, and portions of Interstate 17 were closed for a time as the northbound lanes were inundated by Skunk Creek. Additional storms and heavy rainfall moved through the metro area later in the afternoon. By the time showers had tapered off Tuesday evening, some locations had seen more than 4 inches of rainfall.
An upper level trough off the California coast, along with a strong northwest-southeast oriented moisture gradient, provided the necessary ingredients for an active day. Atmospheric moisture across southeast California and southwest Arizona was at or slightly below normal for mid-August. However, moisture from Maricopa County eastward was substantially above normal (approximately 1.75 times higher than normal for mid-August). The abundant moisture, combined with the approaching trough and mid-level southwesterly winds, provided an ideal setup for storm development and training (storms continuously re-developing over the same area). The southwesterly winds also provided substantial orographic lift as the moist atmosphere was forced to ascend the higher terrain north of Phoenix.
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Image courtesy Maricopa Co. Flood Control Dist. |
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Nearly every wash in the area saw substantial flow on Tuesday, with very rapid rises around New River and Cave Creek. A sampling of stream gages from the Maricopa County Flood Control District reveals a peak flow of 15181 cubic feet per second (cfs) at the New River Fire gage, 12927 cfs along Skunk Creek where it crosses I-17, 14974 cfs along Cave Creek a few miles south of Cave Creek, and over 26000 cfs along Cave Creek in the town of Cave Creek. A river gage along the Agua Fria River at Rock Springs reported a peak flow around 40000 cfs, which equates to a depth of approximately 24.84 feet at that location.
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#1: 28.05ft - 1/21/2010 #2: 27.20ft - 12/18/1978 #3: 25.28ft - 1/8/1993 #4: 24.84ft - 8/19/2014 |
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Pinnacle Peak Rd (Image courtesy Corban Jaeger via Facebook/Twitter) |
(Image Courtesy Maricopa Co Flood Control Dist. via Twitter) |
(Image Courtesy Megan Schwitzer via Facebook) |
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(Image courtesy Mark Wienckowsk via Facebook) |
(Image Courtesy Liz Skeens via Facebook) |
(Image Courtesy Shris Scragg via Facebook) |
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0607 AM HEAVY RAIN 2 SW GLENDALE SPORTS CO 33.51N 112.28W
08/19/2014 E0.25 INCH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
0.25 OF RAIN ESTIMATED IN 15 MINUTES. STREET FLOODING.
0621 AM HEAVY RAIN 2 NNE CASHION 33.47N 112.30W
08/19/2014 M0.32 INCH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
HEAVY RAIN...0.32 INCH IN 20 MINUTES
0632 AM HEAVY RAIN 3 WSW DESERT RIDGE MARK 33.66N 112.02W
08/19/2014 M0.30 INCH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
0.30 INCH OF RAIN IN 20 MINUTES. CURRENTLY RAINING AT
OVER 1 INCH PER HOUR.
0639 AM FLASH FLOOD 3 WNW SOUTH MOUNTAIN PA 33.35N 112.14W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
WATER RESCUE CONDUCTED BY PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT
0647 AM HEAVY RAIN 2 NNE SUN CITY WEST 33.69N 112.36W
08/19/2014 E1.00 INCH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
VERY HEAVY RAIN. OVER 1 INCH IN AN HOUR ESTIMATED.
0649 AM HEAVY RAIN 2 E PEORIA 33.69N 112.20W
08/19/2014 M1.09 INCH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
HEAVY RAIN...1.09 INCH IN 40 MINUTES...NOW TAPERING
OFF.
0653 AM HEAVY RAIN 3 WSW DESERT RIDGE MARK 33.65N 112.03W
08/19/2014 M1.00 INCH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
1.00 INCH OF RAIN SINCE 630 AM
0658 AM FLOOD 1 ENE LAVEEN 33.43N 112.11W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
ONE EIGHTH TO ONE QUARTER INCH OF WATER ON I-17 AT
DURAGO CURVE
0703 AM HEAVY RAIN 3 ESE PEORIA 33.67N 112.19W
08/19/2014 M1.75 INCH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
HEAVY RAIN...1.75 INCH IN 45 MINUTES.
0704 AM FLOOD 1 ENE NORTH MOUNTAIN PA 33.59N 112.05W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
CURB-TO-CURB FLOODING ON I-17 AND DAISY.
0705 AM FLASH FLOOD 6 ENE PEORIA 33.72N 112.14W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
WATER RESCUE CONDUCTED BY PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT
0712 AM HEAVY RAIN 5 SW BEARDSLEY 33.63N 112.45W
08/19/2014 M1.38 INCH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
1.38 INCHES OF RAIN IN 35 MINUTES. SIGNIFICANT PONDING
ON ROADWAYS.
0714 AM FLASH FLOOD NEW RIVER 33.92N 112.13W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
WATER RESCUE CONDUCTED BY PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT
0717 AM FLOOD 3 N METRO CENTER 33.63N 112.12W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ BROADCAST MEDIA
UNDERPASS FLOODED AT GREENWAY AND I-17
0722 AM HEAVY RAIN 5 NNW DESERT RIDGE MARK 33.74N 111.99W
08/19/2014 M0.93 INCH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
HEAVY RAIN...0.93 INCH ON 30 MINUTES. STREET FLOODING
IN AREA.
0726 AM FLASH FLOOD 3 NNW NORTH MOUNTAIN PA 33.63N 112.08W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
SPOTTER REPORTED VIA TEXT MESSAGE 3 FEET OF WATER IN
CAVE CREEK WASH NEAR INTERSECTION OF 7TH AVE AND CORAL
GABLES DR.
0729 AM FLASH FLOOD 5 ESE NEW RIVER 33.89N 112.05W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
WATER RESCUE CONDUCTED BY PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT
0730 AM HEAVY RAIN 3 WSW DESERT RIDGE MARK 33.65N 112.03W
08/19/2014 M1.32 INCH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
MEASURED RAINFALL BETWEEN 0630 AND 0730 MST.
0731 AM FLOOD 5 WSW DESERT RIDGE MARK 33.65N 112.05W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
LOW WATER CROSSINGS FLOODED.
0731 AM FLASH FLOOD 2 SSE CAVE CREEK 33.80N 111.95W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
WATER RESCUE CONDUCTED BY PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT
0734 AM HEAVY RAIN 3 NNE NORTH MOUNTAIN PA 33.62N 112.06W
08/19/2014 M0.75 INCH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
AT LEAST 0.75 INCH OF RAIN IN 30 MINUTES.
0739 AM FLASH FLOOD 5 W CAVE CREEK 33.81N 112.06W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
WATER RESCUE CONDUCTED BY PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT
0752 AM FLOOD 3 NW SOUTH MOUNTAIN PAR 33.36N 112.12W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ BROADCAST MEDIA
BRAODCAST MEDIA REPORTS STREET FLOODING AT INTERSECTION
OF 27TH AVE AND DOBBINS.
0813 AM FLASH FLOOD 4 NNW DESERT RIDGE MARK 33.73N 112.01W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
WATER RESCUE CONDUCTED BY PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT
1000 AM FLASH FLOOD 8 N NEW RIVER 34.03N 112.14W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
ROCKSLIDE ON I-17
1000 AM FLASH FLOOD 4 N NEW RIVER 33.98N 112.13W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
INTERSTATE 17 TOTALLY INUNDATED ENTIRE WIDTH. CARS
STRANDED. RESCUES UNDERWAY.
1119 AM FLASH FLOOD 2 SSE WITTMANN 33.75N 112.52W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT DISPATCHED TO ASSIST WITH
ONGOING WATER RESCUE.
1131 AM FLASH FLOOD 4 N BEARDSLEY 33.74N 112.39W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
WATER RESCUE CONDUCTED BY PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT
1150 AM FLASH FLOOD 2 NNW NEW RIVER 33.94N 112.14W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
WATER RESCUE CONDUCTED BY PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT
1213 PM FLASH FLOOD 2 NW ANTHEM 33.87N 112.16W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
WATER RESCUE CONDUCTED BY PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT
1218 PM FLASH FLOOD 4 S DESERT RIDGE MARKET 33.62N 111.98W
08/19/2014 MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
51 AND BELL ROAD REPORTS 1 INCH RAINFALL IN 14 MINUTES.
0130 PM HEAVY RAIN 5 N DESERT RIDGE MARKET 33.75N 111.98W
08/19/2014 M1.99 INCH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
MEASURED FROM 600AM TO 130PM
0638 PM TSTM WND GST 5 W LUKE AFB 33.54N 112.45W
08/19/2014 M48 MPH MARICOPA AZ TRAINED SPOTTER
VSBY. 1 MI. TOWARDS THE WEST DUE TO A WALL OF RAIN
APPROACHING FROM THE WEST.
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