PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Rain and strong winds moved into the Phoenix area Monday night, knocking out power to thousands and disrupting travel in the air and on the ground.
Outflow winds of up to 50 mph came into the Phoenix metro with scattered storms, according to the National Weather Service.
Winds hit 68 mph near Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. A gust of 53 mph was recorded in Mesa.
825pm: Gusty outflow winds 30-50 mph sweeping into the Phoenix metro along with scattered showers and embedded storms. A few brief, heavy downpours, but mostly areas of light rain with totals under 0.25” pic.twitter.com/l8NuTjKLlY
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) July 21, 2026
A ground stop was issued for flights from the Colorado, Southern California and New Mexico areas heading to Phoenix Sky Harbor.
Flights leaving Sky Harbor were delayed an average of 45 minutes due to the thunderstorms, as of 9:30 p.m., the FAA said.
Rain could be seen falling on Arizona Department of Transportation cameras near U.S. 60 and Power Road in Mesa.
Rain is falling in the East Valley.(ADOT)
As of 10:40 p.m., about 11,400 Salt River Project (SRP) customers and 1,300 Arizona Public Service (APS) customers were without power, according to the companies’ websites.
The rain also affected public transportation, with Valley Metro saying its A-Line trains were delayed.
Earlier in the evening, areas north of the Valley received heavy rains that caused flooding.
Central Arizona Fire said its crews responded to three water rescues in Prescott Valley. All were single-vehicle rescues with one occupant in each.
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