Get the galoshes: Arizona waits for more rain

PHOENIX — Have rain gear handy. The National Weather Service has issued flash flood warnings for most of Arizona that are expected to last nearly all week.

As Hurricane Odile weakens off the coast of Baja California, the storm will push rain across Arizona. By morning rush hour, rain was already falling in parts of the Valley.

Showers moving through the valley. More to come later today. http://t.co/XFeL9c3KWs

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) September 16, 2014

The forecast calls for the remnants of Tropical Storm Odile, which has been
downgraded from a Category 3 hurricane, to strike hardest in the Tucson area
over the next two days — although the Phoenix area expects to get lashed with
rain and gusty wind, too.

Whether or not the rain will come close to last week’s record totals. A single-day mark of 3.29 inches dropped on Phoenix, while East Valley cities Chandler (5.63 inches) and Mesa (4.41 inches) endured the brunt of flooding.

Residents flocked to fire stations around Phoenix to get sandbags to place them
around their homes as protection against floodwaters. Many experienced flooding
last week after a storm dumped more than 5 inches of rain on parts of the
state’s largest city and turned two main freeways into rivers.

“It flooded my whole property, my horse pens, and my garage was under about 2
feet of water,” said Roger Fuller, 72, who spent the morning loading up about
60 sandbags. “This time around, we’re trying to keep the water off the
property. Hopefully, it will work.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.