On This Date: Arizona's Deadly Flash Flooding From Remnants Of Tropical Storm Norma Jonathan ErdmanSeptember 4, 2025 at 4:00 AM 0 Did you know the Desert Southwest can have impacts from tropical storms? Tropical storms remaining intact over Arizona, southeast California, or New Mexico are extremely ...
- - On This Date: Arizona's Deadly Flash Flooding From Remnants Of Tropical Storm Norma
Jonathan ErdmanSeptember 4, 2025 at 4:00 AM
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Did you know the Desert Southwest can have impacts from tropical storms? Tropical storms remaining intact over Arizona, southeast California, or New Mexico are extremely rare, but the "ghost" of these can often be major flood generators in the desert.
Beginning on Sept. 4, 1970, 55 years ago today, the remnants from Tropical Storm Norma led to widespread flash flooding in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
Seven to 12 inches of rain fell in parts of central and southern Arizona. One location about 30 miles north of Globe picked up 11.4 inches of rain in 24 hours, which at the time was Arizona's all-time 24-hour rainfall record.
That torrential rain over mountainous terrain in the desert led to catastrophic flash flooding in some areas.
Twenty-three people died in central Arizona floods, the state's deadliest storm on record. Fourteen of those deaths happened along Tonto Creek near Kohl's Ranch, about 80 miles northeast of Phoenix.
Flooding swamped homes and washed out roads and bridges near Tucson, and two additional drownings occurred in Utah's McElmo Creek.
Damage in Arizona was estimated at $8.4 million, and another $2.9 million in flood damage was estimated from both this Labor Day storm and another just over a week later in the Four Corners region, according to NOAA.
It's a cautionary tale of why meteorologists closely watch a tropical storm or hurricane's remnants well inland, even though its winds and waves have long subsided.
Arizona Labor Day 1970 flood
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Source: "AOL AOL General News"
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