Arizona faces two rounds of heavy rain in three days starting Friday, and forecasters warned that storms falling on ground still saturated from last week’s destructive flooding could quickly send water racing through washes, creeks and low-water crossings from metro Phoenix to the Mogollon Rim.
The National Weather Service issued flood watches for Friday covering the Phoenix metro area, rural Maricopa County, western Pinal County and parts of Gila and Yavapai counties. A second, longer-lasting storm fed by an atmospheric river is expected Saturday night into Sunday, and the weather service office in Phoenix said a “more expansive” flood watch will likely be needed for that event.
“Wet weather in on its way with two weather events Friday through Sunday, both of which could produce heavy rainfall,” the Phoenix office said in its forecast discussion early Thursday…