Southwest US braces for Flood risk as heavy rain looms

Up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain are forecast to impact the area. Friday evening saw emergency responders in Phoenix rescue individuals from vehicles trapped in flooded streets.

“It’s not going to take much rainfall to be impactful at all in some of these locations just because of how saturated they are,” stated Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.

Flood watches are in effect for nearly all of Arizona and portions of southern Utah, southwestern Colorado, western New Mexico, and southern Nevada. The Four Corners region, where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah converge, has experienced particularly severe impacts from recent rainfall.

Meteorologists predict both flash flooding and minor river flooding from this weekend’s weather system.

The Phoenix Fire Department reported rescuing people from four vehicles on Friday night. In Scottsdale, fire crews rescued a person from a vehicle and then responded to another vehicle carrying two people that became submerged in the same floodwaters.

Scottsdale fire Capt. Dave Folio cautioned in a Facebook video that even 2 inches (5 centimeters) of water can displace a vehicle, noting that the vehicles were submerged in 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 meters) of water.

In Bullhead City, Arizona, near the California border, heavy rainfall on Friday resulted in debris-filled streets and park closures, according to city announcements on Facebook.