Flash Flood — La Paz, Arizona

2022-08-21 · near Wenden, La Paz, Arizona

Event narrative

Flow in Centennial Wash caused a low water crossing along Centennial Park Road to become impassable. An RV attempted to cross the flooded roadway but was swept off the road. Images also showed damage to the roadway from the flooding. No injuries were reported.

Wider weather episode

Isolated showers and thunderstorms initially began across parts of southern Gila County, along with eastern Maricopa County and northeast Pinal County, producing locally heavy rainfall leading to isolated flash flooding. By the late afternoon and early evening hours on the 20th, new thunderstorms initiated over the high terrain of northern Arizona. High instability (MUCAPE 2,000-2,500 J/kg) aided in maintaining strong to severe thunderstorms into the Phoenix area as thunderstorms pushed toward the south and into the lower deserts during the evening. DCAPE around 1,000-1,200 J/kg promoted strong to severe downbursts with the strongest thunderstorms. Meanwhile, PWATs around 1.7-1.9 aided in thunderstorms being heavy rainfall producers, leading to several reports of flash flooding. No injuries were reported.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.8026, -113.5583)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1054511. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.