Tornado reported in Arizona; check out flash-flood video
A tornado and ping-pong-ball-sized hail in Arizona? The National Weather Service reported both in the Flagstaff area Sunday.
At around 2:20 p.m., the Weather Service's Flagstaff office picked up a tornado on radar heading towards U.S. 89 south of Gray Mountain, according to government meteorologist Mark Stubblefield.
Wind gusts up to 70 mph were said to be possible during the storm that traveled through the Gray Mountain area just 27 miles north of Flagstaff. That was announced 10 minutes earlier, along with the massive hail storm.
Avondale resident Tricia Leonhardt experienced the weather system first hand while traveling north for a camping trip with her husband, when she watched a flash flood sweep across the road in front of and behind their vehicle.
"It was really quick," Leonhardt said over the phone.
Leonhardt was heading west on the 89A near Marble Canyon when a flash flood 4 to 5 feet deep swept boulders and other debris onto the roadway.
A 24-mile stretch of the 89A between mileposts 531 and 555 have been closed while Arizona Department of Transportation crews work to clear boulders and thick mud, according to ADOT spokeswoman Caroline Carpenter.
ADOT brought in several crews to help clear the roadway and currently there is no estimated time to reopen the roadway, Carpenter said.
Before the flood hit, Leonhardt remembers hail and lightning descending down upon them.
"It was nuts," she exclaimed, adding "I've never seen anything like it."
Leonhardt and her husband decided a trip to the North Rim wasn't the best idea given the circumstances and promptly headed back home.
Before the flood hit, Leonhardt remembers hail and lightning descending down upon them.
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"It was nuts," she exclaimed, adding "I've never seen anything like it."
Leonhardt and her husband decided a trip to the North Rim wasn't the best idea given the circumstances and promptly headed back home.
As of 6:30 p.m. the storms in the area have "calmed down quite a bit," and all advisories have expired, Stubblefield said. The hail and tornado are "not typical but not unheard of," according to Stubblefield.
Stubblefield encouraged anyone who may have photographed the rare event to send them to the NWS Flagstaff office.
Elsewhere in Arizona, the Weather Service issued a flash flood advisory for Pima County until 7:30 p.m. Sunday, noting some areas saw 2 inches of rain in a short span.
In Marana, residents and government forecasters reported a dust cloud.
Meanwhile in Metro Phoenix? Hot and most sunny. Again.
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