The leading edge of a powerful winter storm hit the Valley Thursday morning, with heavy rain and strong winds expected later in the afternoon.

The storm already was generating rainfall of an inch an hour in the north part of the Valley, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flood warning. [...]]]> Powerful Winter Storm Hits Arizona

The leading edge of a powerful winter storm hit the Valley Thursday morning, with heavy rain and strong winds expected later in the afternoon.

The storm already was generating rainfall of an inch an hour in the north part of the Valley, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flood warning. The warning was for parts of northeastern Maricopa County, including Scottsdale, Peoria, Wittman, Wickenburg, New River, Fountain Hills and Circle City.

Warnings were also issued for Central Gila County, including the City of Roosevelt, and North Central Pinal County. The warning was in effect until 1 p.m.

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service reported flash flooding soon after the warnings were issued for at-risk areas, including Cave Creek Wash, New River Wash, Skunk Creek, Centennial Wash and Agua Fria Wash.

The main thrust of the storm is anticipated for later in the afternoon and evening, said Ken Waters, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“We have one little wave that came through this morning,” Waters said, “but a lot more is coming.”

The Valley could receive upwards of 5 inches of rain, forecasters said, and the flash-flood warning is in effect for for Thursday and Friday.

Steady rainfall in the morning has already dropped more than an inch in parts of Cave Creek, Peoria and Surprise.

Heavy ran was expected later Thursday and all through the night. Already, flooding was being reported and a number of roads closed: — Recker Road, between Elliot and Warner roads, in Gilbert.

– Osborne Road, between Miller Road and Hayden Road, in Scottsdale.

– Un-bridged roads over the Indian Bend Wash, between Chaparral Road and McDonald Drive, in Scottsdale.

Strong, damaging winds were expected between 9 a.m. and midnight — with the hardest hitting in the early afternoon at upwards 40 mph and gusts between 50 to 65 mph, Waters said.

Up north, Interstate 17 is closed near Camp Verde due to the storm as they are expecting heavy snow all day, Waters said. The snow level is expected between 2 to 4 feet by the weekend.

I-17 is also closed in both directions at mile post 298, the exit going into Sedona, and at the Flagstaff Airport, just south of Flagstaff, due to the severe weather conditions, according to Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman Doug Nintzel.

Sections of the interstate were closed after several accidents caused by vehicles sliding off the road as they attempted to go uphill.

“We’re advising drivers to avoid travel to the high country until weather conditions improve,” Nintzel said. “We know a lot of folks want to go play in the snow…the best advice we can give is to wait until the conditions improve and then go have fun.”

Cities in northern and central Arizona spent Wednesday preparing for the nasty winter storm that’s coming in from California.

Forecasters urged residents to avoid crossing flooded areas and reduce speeds on snowpacked and icy roads, postponing travel all together if possible.

Officials in Oak Creek, near Sedona, issued both assurances of preparedness and warning of possible evacuations while Valley cities continued to hand out sandbags.

The storm is the third, and biggest, system rolling through the state this week and has authorities hunkering down for big challenges.

Among those is the possibility that northern Arizona waterways such as Oak Creek will flood. The city put an advisory on its Web site Wednesday saying its police department was getting its evacuation plan ready but no one had been ordered to leave as of Wednesday night.

“We’re gonna get a lot of water,” said Gary Johnson, spokesman for the Sedona Fire Department. “It could be a problem. We’re just not sure.”

Source: Republic reporters Glen Creno Mary Beth Faller, Peter Corbett, and the Associated Press contributed to this article.

When many people think of Arizona they think of cowboys, and sand dunes, and heat, and cacti. It may come as a surprise that Arizona [...]]]>

Phoenix Az Weather Facts. Phoenix Dust Storms Video.

It’s A Dry Heat

(picture to left is a summer dust storm approaching Phoenix area. They tend to always hit around 5 pm traffic time)

When many people think of Arizona they think of cowboys, and sand dunes, and heat, and cacti. It may come as a surprise that Arizona actually has quite a varied topography, which includes low desert (Phoenix, Yuma), mid desert (Tucson, Wickenburg), high desert (Prescott, Payson, Bisbee, Sedona), plateau highlands (Williams, Page, Holbrook), and cold mountainous regions (Flagstaff, Greer). Arizona is home to this country’s largest Ponderosa Pine Forest. The highest elevation point in the State of Arizona is Humphreys Peak, northwest of Flagstaff, at 12,633 feet above sea level. A popular ski area is in that part of the state. The lowest elevation in Arizona is is the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, at 70 feet above sea level.

July 5 2011 Dust Storm biggest in Phoenix history. 1 mile high and 50 miles long

Here are some additional interesting weather facts about Arizona!

A forecast of “Partly Cloudy” or “Partly Sunny”, is made when between 3/10 and 6/10 of the sky is to be covered with clouds.

The difference between these terms is based on the forecast period itself—during the day, either term could be used. However, for the nighttime forecast periods, a forecast of “partly cloudy” would be the only appropriate term, as there is no sunshine at night!

Terms such as “slight chance” of rain (10-20%), “chance” of rain (30-50%) or rain “likely” (60-70%) are used when there is uncertainty of receiving measurable precipitation anywhere in the forecast area (such as the Greater Phoenix Area). For instance, if there is only a 30–50 percent chance that rain will fall anywhere in the Phoenix Metro area, then the forecast will call for a “chance” of rain.

“Measurable rain” refers to a rainfall total of 0.01 inches or greater. When you hear the terms “isolated” showers or “few” showers (10-20%), “scattered” showers (30-50%), or “numerous” showers (60-70%), in the forecast, this refers to the percent of the forecast area covered by measurable rain. For instance, “scattered showers” means that the forecast area WILL receive rain, and approximately 30–50 percent of the area will experience showers. Most of the severe weather is seen in Arizona, especially in the Phoenix Metro area, is caused by microbursts—not tornadoes. A “microburst” is a small area of rapidly descending air beneath a thunderstorm. When the descending air hits the ground, it quickly spreads out in all directions, causing very strong, straight-line winds. These winds are commonly as strong as 40–60 mph but can exceed 100 mph at times. Microbursts occur over a rather small space-scale, typically the area affected is less than 2.5 miles in diameter.

Although Phoenix residents may feel that their city MUST be the hottest place around at times, top honors go to Lake Havasu City, where the mercury climbed to 128 degrees on June 29, 1994. This bests the Phoenix mark of 122 degrees, set on June 26, 1990.

Hawley Lake recorded Arizona’s coldest temperature of 40 below zero on January 7, 1971. The coldest temperature recorded in Phoenix was 16 degrees, set on January 7, 1913. Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, where the official temperature for Phoenix is recorded, rarely gets below freezing (32 degrees F).

Typically, the heaviest rain falls during the summer thunderstorm season, or Monsoon, in our state. The rain can accumulate very quickly, resulting in flooded streets or washes, and can even cause deaths via flash flooding. In Phoenix, the greatest rainfall in a 24 hour period was 4.98 inches on July 1-2, 1911. This total is quite a bit less than the Arizona record of 11.4 inches, which fell on Workman Creek (near Globe) on September 4-5, 1970.

Triple Digit Facts for Phoenix

The highest temperatures ever recorded in Phoenix were: 122°F on June 26, 1990;

121°F on July 28, 1995;

120°F on June 25, 1990;

118°F on July 16, 1925, June 24, 1929, July 11, 1958, July 4, 1989, June 27, 1990, June 28, 1990, July 27, 1995, and July 21, 2006.

The average number of 100°F or higher days in Phoenix: 89

The fewest number of 100°F or higher days ever recorded in Phoenix: 48 in 1913

The greatest number of 100°F or higher days ever recorded in Phoenix: 143 in 1989

Stay out of the heat this summer…let Trisha Brooks, GRI RE/MAX find you a nice cool home to live in, maybe with a refreshing pool. Call Trisha today at 602-618-3053 or search for a new home at http://www.liveinphoenixtoday.com/