Scattered storms moved through parts of the East Valley on Monday night, and because weather in Arizona apparently enjoys a little theater, the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for east Mesa and Apache Junction, according to KTAR.com.
KTAR reported the warning called for strong gusts of wind, some dust and heavy rain. By 9:30 p.m., those areas had picked up anywhere from 0.04 to 0.75 inches of rain, according to Maricopa County’s Rainfall Data Map. Parts of Queen Creek, Chandler and Gilbert also saw some moisture from the storms, so the system did not exactly keep to itself.
The weather activity first developed in northwestern Pinal County around 6:10 p.m., KTAR reported. That timing matters because it shows how quickly these storms can build and then spread across the edge of the Valley before anyone has finished pretending they were going to stay indoors.
There is more rain in the forecast, too. KTAR said the Valley has increased chances of rain until Wednesday, when the probability for precipitation reaches 60% to 70%, according to the National Weather Service forecast. The weather authority also said that with the higher likelihood of precipitation comes the possibility of localized heavy rain, frequent lightning, wind gusts exceeding 35 mph and blowing dust.
So the short version is this: Monday night’s storms were scattered, but the impacts were not. Rain, wind and dust all made an appearance, and the next round still has a few days to show up and make itself annoying.
Bill Farr
