Severe monsoon storm damage reported in Mesa, Chandler, Phoenix, USA

(Photo: Parker Leavitt/The Republic)

Thunderstorms moved into the Phoenix area on Saturday evening, causing damage across the East Valley.

 

Chandler and Guadalupe saw the most severe storms. Crews were working to clean up downed trees from roads in Chandler, especially near Desert Breeze Park.

 

In Mesa, about 13,000 people were without power for several hours, according to Salt River Project. Since a number of storms came into the area all at once, multiple electrical systems were affected.

 

In addition to the power outages, electrical poles were downed near Southern Avenue and Stapley Drive. SRP was working to restore power to customers on Saturday night.

 

By Sunday at 9:50 a.m., about 450 customers were still without power. Projected restoration times spanned from one to 15 hours.

 

“We’re anxious to get power to those affected as quickly as possible,” said SRP spokesperson Kathleen Mascarenas.

 

Charlotte Dewey, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, reported that Saturday evening’s thunderstorms were consistent of monsoon season weather. Isolated showers and damaging downbursts weren’t widespread and largely stayed in the East Valley.

 

The forecast for Sunday and the first few days of the week calls for high temperatures around 105 degrees and low temperatures in the mid-to-low 80’s.

 

The chance of rain will drop to about 10 percent, and if any storms come into the area Sunday it will be in the late afternoon.

 

Chances of thunderstorms are expected to decrease gradually through the week, though high-terrain areas in the east have a higher likelihood of rainfall.

Courtesy of azcentral.com

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