Monsoon Storms In Phoenix Leave Cars Stranded In Flood Waters

Severe thunderstorms roared into the Phoenix area late Tuesday afternoon, drenching some parts of the Valley and creating dangerous conditions for evening commuters. So much rainfall had fallen in a short span of time — up to 2 inches in one hour in central Phoenix — that the National Weather Service was referring to the storm as a 100-year event, meaning that amount of rainfall has a 1 percent chance of happening in any given year, in a specific location. Authorities urged Valley residents to avoid driving during the storm, as the rainfall had created headaches for motorists on freeways and surface streets.