Monsoon Stories

Ahead of monsoon season, Salt River Project and the city of Phoenix will begin cutting down trees too close to power lines this week.

Monsoon season officially lasts from June 15 to Sept. 30. The summer storms typically bring about 2.4 inches of rain to the Valley. This year we’ve had just 0.15 inches.

Many Arizonans are waiting for the summer monsoon, hoping it can temper the state’s record-breaking heat wave. One listener wanted to know how long the monsoon typically lasts.

Phoenix’s monsoon season has been off to a slow start, but the National Weather Service projects slightly increased chances for storm activity over the next two weeks.

Monsoon activity will remain in the Valley with chances of rain expected to increase later in the week.

A flash flood watch has started at noon today in the Phoenix area. Heavy rains are possible, with a 25% chance of flash flooding through tonight and into the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Saturday’s storms brought heavy rain to many parts of the metro Phoenix. North central Phoenix, north Scottsdale and Cave Creek saw the hardest downpour with 1 1/2 to 2 inches of rain. Areas that saw the heaviest rain also experienced flooding.

The City of Flagstaff this week secured $2.4 million in federal funding for flood mitigation efforts. Mayor Paul Deasy said a recent fire burn scar is the main focus as rain continues to be in the forecast.

The Museum Fire in Flagstaff burned nearly 2,000 acres in 2019. Then a rain event of a magnitude that only happens every few hundred years fell on its burn scar. It resulted in mass flooding of homes in several Flagstaff neighborhoods.

Coconino County's Flood Control District will receive $3.5 million from the U.S. Forest Service for watershed restoration in the area between the 2019 Museum Fire burn scar and Flagstaff.