A severe monsoon storm tore across the Phoenix metro area Sunday night, slamming Buckeye with wind gusts up to 80 mph and inch-diameter hail while cutting power to more than 18,000 customers and forcing the evacuation of a concert crowd in Scottsdale. The storm system moved steadily westward through the evening, leaving standing water on freeways, downed power lines, and a swath of property damage in its wake.
According to a radar update from the National Weather Service Phoenix office, retweeted by the Arizona Department of Transportation just before 10 PM, wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph were observed as the storm cell moved through Buckeye, and forecasters said the storm there had produced extensive damage. NWS Phoenix also reported hail measuring 1 inch in diameter in Buckeye, and advised residents in the storm’s path to stay indoors and away from windows.
The dangerous storm cell continued to slowly progress westward Sunday evening as it moved across the Valley, per the same NWS Phoenix update relayed through ADOT’s social channels. Buckeye, which sits roughly 30 miles west of downtown Phoenix along Interstate 10, frequently absorbs the worst of these outflow-driven microbursts as storm cells descend from higher terrain to the east, according to the National Weather Service.
Concert Evacuated, Thousands Lose Power
Around 9:40 PM, the same storm system forced the evacuation of a John Mellencamp concert at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, as reported by 12News. The outlet reported the storm knocked out power to more than 18,000 combined SRP and APS customers across Glendale and Phoenix, with downed lines and trees among the likely culprits behind the widespread outages…