Flood — Maricopa, Arizona

2013-03-08 to 2013-03-09 · near Scottsdale, Maricopa, Arizona

Event narrative

Scattered thunderstorms associated with a powerful winter storm dropped locally heavy rainfall across portions of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, including the community of Scottsdale, during the afternoon hours on March 8th. An Urban and Small Stream Flood Advisory was issued at 120 pm for south central Arizona, including Fountain Hills and Scottdale, and it continued through 315 pm. Radar indicated that rain in excess of 1 inch fell during this period, with additional rain occurring late into the day. The rain led to the flooding of washes in Scottsdale. According to a Fox 10 article, Scottsdale police identified the body of a woman found in a rain swollen wash in Scottsdale on Saturday afternoon on March 9th. The woman, 38 years old, was found in the wash just north of Chaparral Road, off Hayden Road. She lived in a group home about 1 imile away from the wash and she was reported missing Friday as the weather worsened. A man who was in the area Saturday afternoon spotted the woman floating in the water, and called 911. Police then arrived at the wash at about 430 pm Saturday.

Wider weather episode

A powerful winter storm moved east across the central Arizona deserts on the 8th of March, and the associated cold front passed over the area during the afternoon hours bringing gusty winds in excess of 50 mph, locally heavy rain and small to moderate hail. The cold front generated scattered thunderstorms, which produced locally damaging winds in the greater Phoenix area, and locally heavy thunderstorm rains caused some flooding of streets and washes. Flooding of washes occurred in the community of Scottsdale, and one woman was found dead in one of the flooded washes.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.5056, -111.9035)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 438250. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.