When was the last time you heard of flooding - - in Arizona?

[babylonsister]

Extreme flooding in Mesa, AZ, as I type. Seems weird to me, though I have never lived there.

[exothermic]

1. Not for several weeks! It's usually dry there.

:-)

[newmajority]

2. Flash floods are common in monsoon season

The street my grandmother lived on (in Catalina) used to wash out every summer. They finally wised up and paved it.

The reason it floods is that it's normally so dry there that the soil "forgets" how to hold water, so when you dump a huge amount of water all at once, it can't soak in, as it would in a state where there's a little more moisture in the ground year round.

[BridgeTheGap]

3. My ex lived in Tuscon for several years in the early 80s

she said it happened there during infrequent down pours. Because there is so little rain, there is no drainage system. She said she saw people canoeing down streets.

[Andy823]

7. I was in Tucson in the 60's

Lived there for 6 years, and saw a lot of flash floods. People would try and drive through them and get swept way in their cars.

[atreides1]

11. Lived in Tucson for 8 years

Moved from Tucson in 2005, Pima County passed a "Stupid Driver Law" targeted against people who pass barricades and try to drive through flooded washes. The idea was to charge people who got stuck, the cost for the fire department rescue, I know while we were there they rescued several stupid drivers but never made them pay.

We did see a lot of flash floods during the Monsoon season. Not only is the drainage inadequate, the type of desert only soaks up so much water, and then the flooding starts.

[eleny]

4. When you don't get rain in a very, very long time...

And the ground is a desert and then you get a downpour, it'll happen.

Listening to Sam Seder sitting in for Malloy last night, the engineer in Phoenix said they were getting a wild rain storm during the last hour of the show. Must have been a doozy.

[aspergris]

5. I'm in Phoenix right now

On a little trip.

HEAVY HEAVY rain last night.

Summer storms in AZ can get kind of hectic.

Unlike Seattle where it drizzles for days on end, rain in AZ is usually ferocious but short lived

[fishwax]

6. I think it's because of the ground there

The hard earth doesn't absorb water quickly, so when they get a severe storm the water has nowhere to go. The neighborhoods there usually have parks that also serve as flood basins--they are large grassy areas that are lower than the rest of the neighborhood, with steep sides. That way, when heavy rains come, all the water can collect there.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

8. OMG, I was driving home in the storm last night in Phoenix.

I have never been so frightened on the road in my life! :scared: First, the dust storm blew sand and debris all over the place. Then the rain. It was torrential. You could not see 5 feet in front of you. I've lived in rainy places before, and been through hurricaines and typhoons. What happened last night didn't compare to those, obviously, but definitely the worst driving conditions I've been in.

[Karenina]

16. Do NOT drive through puddles in Phoenix!

Especially when there's actual water in the Salt River busily taking out bridges...

[Dover]

9. Hope everyone is harvesting the rain!

The heavy monsoons can fill up cisterns that will last a long while.

[ben_meyers]

17. Our "cisterns" are full

The reservoir system that feeds most of Phoenix is at 90% full this year. We had a good winter snow pack up north and some good rains. They are actually releasing water most days. I hear that the Salt River inner tubing is great this year.


http://www.srpwater.com/dwr/report.asp?dt=7/11/2008

[charlie]

10. Places in the desert southwest

have their sporadic flash floods and periodic 10 - 100 year mega floods.

Here's a clip from dry-as-a-cracker El Paso in 2006:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt8GXQ3v32A

[EstimatedProphet]

12. It's not uncommon during the summer

A rain which would cause a mild rise in a creek in the east can turn into a flash flood in no time in the southwest.

[ben_meyers]

13. Last year, and every year that I have lived here.

2-4 inches of rain at one time isn't all that uncommon during our summer "monsoon" season, and every year people drive into the washes and get stuck. That's why we have a "stupid motorist" law, 2000 bucks if you drive around a barricade.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/07/11/20080711stormaftermath.html

[babylonsister]

15. I learned something today from everyone!

I think of AZ and I think of all that dry heat vs. our So. TX humidity and rain. And we also have bozos that drive into water when they have no clue how deep it is.

[arcadian]

14. Floods are potentially more dangerous in the desert regions.

Because when they do get severe rain it only has one place to go. The ground is so compact that it stays on the surface for much longer. This often creates a "wall of water" type effect in flood prone areas like arroyos and dry washes.

[az chela]

18. We have had a lot of floods here but not for the last

few years.Prescott has been flooded many times and people actually drown crossing the creeks
on several of the streets here in town