Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
A massive wall of dust coated everything in its path as it blasted through the Valley on Saturday evening, a prelude to more big weather changes in store as the new work week begins.
The Phoenix area was under a dust storm warning until 8 p.m. Saturday as the monsoon kicked in again.
Dust flew as winds were gusting between 25 to 40 mph.
A weather pattern that’s forming threatens to channel deep moisture associated with Hurricane Norbert into Arizona, CBS 5 meteorologists said Sunday.
Tropical moisture feeding into the state from the south will further enhance the pattern, possibly leading to thunderstorms in some parts of the CBS 5 viewing area before the weekend is out.
The weakening hurricane is moving parallel to Mexico’s Baja California peninsula after pounding fishing villages and resorts. Authorities say more than a 1,000 homes have been damaged and hundreds of people forced to flee to higher ground.
Norbert grew to Category 3 status Saturday but by morning it had weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with winds of up to 75 mph. Though staying away from land, it’s passing near enough to the coast to drench fishing villages and resorts, and pound beaches.
The Baja California Sur state government reports that 500 people there had gone to shelters and health officials are taking steps to fight mosquitoes in stagnant water to prevent the spread of dengue. At least 2,000 people have been evacuated from Los Cabos, La Paz and Comondu.
“While we won’t see that storm even get close to Arizona, the weather pattern setting up will sweep the deep moisture associated with that storm into the southwestern U.S.,” CBS 5 Chief Meteorologist Chris Dunn said.
The best threat for storms along with heavy rain will occur Monday, especially across south central Arizona as the system starts to push inland over northern California, lifting ever
greater amounts of moisture north and into Arizona.
“There is still some uncertainty in the exact amount of rain (some projections are less than .10″) but most of the computer forecast models I have analyzed and rely on show between 1 to 2 inches of rain possible with this setup through Monday, mainly focused on the late Sunday/Monday time frame,” Dunn said.
There was a 70 percent chance of rain Sunday night and Monday.
“The main threat after the storms start and the ground moistens up a bit will be the amount and intensity of rainfall that we can expect over the next day or two, at least through Monday, Dunn said.
Some rain could linger into Tuesday.
With our monsoon weather remaining active through the weekend and into next week, be sure to check in with us on-air, online and on your phone with the CBS 5 app for the latest weather updates and interactive radar.
Some Phoenix residents are wasting no time preparing for possible flooding.
A pair of south Phoenix families know what that’s like all too well. Every time it rains, even just a little, their homes flood. Jenny Nuñez said she’s put up with it for 10 years.
“We like it here. We’ve been here a long time,” Nuñez said. “It’s just too much.”
In just the last month, Nuñez and her neighbors off 19th Avenue and Broadway have mopped their homes clean of flood waters twice. Every time it starts to rain, she fears the flash flood.
“[The water comes in] I’d say in the matter of four to five minutes,” she said.
A monsoon storm last year blasted her neighbor’s home with heavy rains and 7 inches of flood water inside. Audrianna Rogers said she never knows what to expect with a rainy forecast but she has to be prepared for the worst. Rogers has cinder blocks stacked outside her front door.
“We’re going to put some more up and put sand around the door so it won’t come in,” Rogers said. “It’s hard. You just have to be strong.”
With sandbags on standby and a dry mop ready for use, Rogers and Nuñez are prepped for another round of rain and whatever flooding another storm will dish out.
Many other Arizona residents are still flood weary from soaking rains that inundated their neighborhoods last month.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has asked for federal help in assisting those whose homes and businesses were damaged in last month’s flooding in Maricopa County.
The governor sent a disaster declaration request Wednesday to the Small Business Administration.
Maricopa County received rainfall on seven of eight consecutive days between Aug. 12 and 19. The storms produced flash flooding that impacted more than 350 homes.
Laveen received 3.97 inches of rain, while New River received 6.85 inches.
Officials found there was major damage to at least 41 homes and businesses and minor damage to an additional 61 homes and businesses.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
