Heavy rains expected to bring flooding risk to already saturated parts of the US Southwest

Heavy rains starting Saturday evening were expected to bring a menace of flash flooding to already saturated areas of the U.S. Southwest done Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

As overmuch arsenic 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rainfall could autumn crossed the region, wherever a fig of upwind systems person brought a deadly autumn of soaking rains. In the Phoenix country connected Friday evening, exigency crews rescued radical from respective vehicles connected flooded streets.

“It’s not going to instrumentality overmuch rainfall to beryllium impactful astatine each successful immoderate of these locations conscionable due to the fact that of however saturated they are,” said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center successful College Park, Maryland.

The National Weather Service has issued flood watches for astir each of Arizona and parts of confederate Utah, southwestern Colorado, and occidental New Mexico, successful summation to portion of confederate Nevada. Those watches see the Four Corners region, a sparsely populated country wherever Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah conscionable that has been deed particularly hard by caller rains.

Santorelli said this weekend's rainfall was expected to bring some flash flooding and small-stream stream flooding.

The Phoenix Fire Department said successful a station connected X that it rescued radical from 4 vehicles connected flooded streets connected Friday night, portion a occurrence skipper successful adjacent Scottsdale said connected Facebook crews were rescuing a idiosyncratic successful 1 conveyance connected a flooded thoroughfare erstwhile different conveyance carrying 2 radical drove into the aforesaid waters and had to beryllium rescued.

Scottsdale occurrence Capt. Dave Folio said successful a video posted connected Facebook that conscionable 2 inches (5 centimeters) of h2o tin "sweep your conveyance disconnected its wheels,'' and that the vehicles were successful 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 meters) of water.

In Bullhead City, Arizona, located connected the state's borderline with California, dense rains connected Friday near water, rocks and debris connected streets crossed the metropolis and closed parks, the metropolis said successful Facebook posts.