Rain blankets Phoenix area freeways; snow forces road closures in northern Arizona
D-backs spring training game against Angels rained out
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Heavy rain is moving back into parts of the Valley as a winter storm pummels parts of Arizona on Friday.
Rain blanketed some freeways in the early afternoon, causing some crashes. The Arizona Department of Public Safety reports that one driver lost control on standing rainwater and rolled over on Loop 202 Red Mountain near McDowell Road. Fortunately, the driver had minor injuries.
The rain has also led to the cancellation of four spring training games.
Further north, snow has caused multiple vehicle slide-offs in the High Country, forcing the closure of several highways.
Closures as of 7:45 p.m. Friday
- I-40 eastbound near Kingman and in Ash Fork
- I-40 westbound in Winslow
- SR 87 at milepost 238 (12 miles south of Payson)
As of Friday night, there is no estimated time to reopen either I-40 or SR 87.
Because of the I-40 closure in Ash Fork, a group of students from Golden, Colorado, were stuck in the storm on their way to the Grand Canyon. They had to stay in a school gymnasium in Ash Fork to wait out the terrible weather.
Interstate 17 northbound between state Route 179 and I-40 was closed for hours before reopening around in time for the evening commute. SR 89A between Sedona and Flagstaff also closed for much of the afternoon but reopened around 5:30 p.m.
Heavy snowfall in the area is making travel difficult, and ADOT encourages drivers to delay their travel plans until the winter storm passes. If conditions worsen, other highways may shut down for the public’s safety.
As rain continues falling on many Valley freeways, ADOT is asking drivers to slow down, leave extra room to brake and never drive in flooded roads or washes.
Thousands of customers also woke up without power as rain and wind moved across the Valley early Friday morning.
As of 2:30 p.m., nearly 400 APS customers are without power due to several outages across the Phoenix metro area. For SRP customers, multiple outages were reported in the South Mountain and west Phoenix areas. About 930 SRP customers don’t have power as of 2:30 p.m.
In addition, over 200 flights are delayed at Sky Harbor due to low visibility from the rain. Most of the delayed flights are through Southwest Airlines.
Nine flights have been canceled.
A power outage also affected some of the streetlights on the west side of Sky Harbor, but those lights have since been restored.
APS’ website stated that severe weather in the area damaged equipment. Company officials confirmed that one pole near 32nd Street and Cactus was struck by lightning, which ignited a small fire.
Arizona’s Family crews witnessed one power pole on fire near 22nd Avenue and Fillmore Street.
SRP crews are continuing to investigate the cause of the outages.
A large power outage was in the metro Phoenix area on Sweetwater Avenue to Altadena Avenue, and 29th Street to 38th Place. This outage affected roughly 1,200 customers at its height, but has been fixed.
The largest area that was affected by the early morning outage was in Goodyear, where nearly 2,000 customers didn’t have power to start the morning. The outage was reported on Cocopah to McDowell Road and Citrus to 160th Avenue, but has since been restored.
Other outages were reported in Buckeye, Glendale, Scottsdale, Sun City, Youngtown and other parts of Phoenix. Several northern Arizona customers in Ash Fork are also experiencing outages.
FIRST ALERT WEATHER RADAR
A strong storm system pummeled Arizona, bringing rain, snow and the possibility of thunderstorms. Many in the High Country woke up to falling snow, while Valley drivers saw winds and rain on their morning commute.
The rainstorm also forced the popular Out of Africa Wildlife Park in Camp Verde to close.
Scattered showers are possible this afternoon, including a chance of small hail.
Most of the High Country is under a Winter Weather Advisory or Winter Storm Warning.
The National Weather Service Flagstaff stated its office received four inches of new snow overnight.
Several schools and districts are closed in northern Arizona due to the snow day. Those include Flagstaff Unified Schools, Blue Ridge Unified School District, Coconino Community College and more.
For the second day in a row, state Route 64 is closed in both directions between Grand Canyon Village and Tusayan Run Road along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. There’s no estimated time for its reopening.
Drivers should be prepared to spend extended time on the road due to the winter conditions. ADOT recommends drivers should pack a winter emergency kit.
ADOT snow plows are out and about in the High Country Friday morning. Officials are reminding drivers to avoid passing the plows and to stay back at least four car lengths.
Drivers are also asked to avoid parking on highway shoulders.
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