Phoenix rain results in weak tornado, damage, outages
Mar 2, 2014, 3:54 PM | Updated: 3:56 pm
PHOENIX — A weekend storm system that drenched Phoenix is already tapering
off, but not without leaving damage in its wake.
Residents are cleaning up Sunday after showers, wind gusts and even
hail fell the night before.
While there have been no reports of weather-related injuries, the storm led to
power outages Saturday night for 2,050 people in central Phoenix.
Jim McDonald, a spokesman for Arizona Public Service Company, said power was
restored within an hour.
There were even reports of a funnel cloud in the area.
“It looked like it occurred around 12:45 to 12:50 pm [Saturday] and the location was in Mesa…in the Palm Cove apartment complex,” said Charlotte Dewey of the National Weather Service.
Dewey said that they are working on confirming that the funnel cloud became a tornado.
“Right now, it looks to be EF-0, which is the lowest scale,” she said.
The presumed tornado was brief and did not travel very far, but it did leave a little bit of damage to some properties.
“A survey was done [Sunday], and from reports and eyewitnesses, there was a hot tub that was launched and moved around 1,300 feet, [there was] extensive shingle damage and several large tress knocked down and uprooted,” Dewey said.
The NWS is expected to release more detail about the tornado on Monday.
Meanwhile, a wash in Cave Creek, which saw as much as 2 inches of rain, overflowed.
Several events also became weather casualties Saturday, including two spring
training games and a NASCAR Nationwide Series race that was cut short.
In southern Arizona, Tucson saw 0.6 inches of rain while Sierra Vista and
Nogales more than 1 inch since Saturday morning.
North in Flagstaff, the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort reported receiving 13
inches of snow in the past 24 hours.
The bulk of the storm has passed, National Weather Service forecasters say.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
