Heavy rain prompted evacuations in parts of northern and central Arizona on Sunday, Nov. 1, after Oak Creek rose above flood stage and officials warned flooding could continue into early this week.
By 6:58 p.m. ET (23:58 UTC), the National Weather Service’s Flagstaff office reported two to four inches of rain since midnight in areas south of the Mogollon Rim. Some stream gauges had exceeded record stage heights. The office warned that flood conditions might continue Monday and last through Tuesday or longer.
The National Weather Service said Oak Creek’s gauge near Sedona stood at 15.06 feet at 9:45 a.m. ET (14:45 UTC), above the creek’s 14-foot flood stage. Sedona officials ordered evacuations in zones 8, 9 and 10. Coconino County said it activated its Emergency Operations Center because of widespread flooding.
The Camp Verde Marshal’s Office ordered residents near the Verde River, West Clear Creek and Wet Beaver Creek to leave. Payson police directed all residents and visitors in Gisela to evacuate, including areas beyond streets covered by earlier orders. In Pinetop-Lakeside, officials urged residents and visitors to shelter in place and opened an emergency shelter.
Arizona’s AZ511 road alert listed closures on State Route 89A between Sedona and Kachina Village, State Route 73 between Indian Pine and White River, and State Route 238 between Maricopa and Gila Bend. The alert did not give an estimated reopening time.
The National Weather Service described the storm as an atmospheric river and said earlier rain had left the ground saturated, increasing runoff. It expected waterways to remain high after rainfall eased. “We are getting two or three months of rain in a span of a couple of days,” Aaron Hardin, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Tucson, told The Associated Press.
