Thunderstorm Wind in Maricopa County, Arizona

Several cities throughout the central portion of Maricopa County had major wind damage as a series of thunderstorms and microbursts moved across the area. According to the Salt River Project, an estimated 65 power poles were blown down, in parts of Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa. At one point, about 20,000 customers were without power. Arizona Public Service reported about 8,000 customers were without power. At Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, the official peak wind gust was 59 mph. However, winds at Williams Gateway Airport gusted to 86 mph and flipped a small twin-engine plane atop another aircraft. In Mesa, 35 schools reported damages due to the storm. In addition to numerous trees and homes damaged by winds, locally heavy rainfall caused some flooding of streets thoughout the Valley. One of the heaviest amounts was 2.70 inches at Crossroads Park.