Scattered showers and thunderstorms moved into the Valley late Monday night, continued into Tuesday morning, and more could be on the way as our state also sees rare Tornado Warnings as part of this system.
Tornado Warning including Gila County, AZ, Navajo County, AZ until 3:30 PM MST pic.twitter.com/P7iG57WzCa
— NWS Tornado (@NWStornado) October 5, 2021
As of 3:15 p.m., a Tornado Warning was issued for parts of eastern Arizona in Gila and Navajo counties until 3:30 p.m. The warning was the second issued, following an earlier warning near the Sitgreaves National Forest that expired at 3 p.m.
A powerful upper-level storm system spinning off the California coast headed our way Tuesday afternoon, allowing for more thunderstorms to develop, bringing the chance for more hail and even possible tornadoes in northern Arizona.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for most of Arizona, including the Valley, until 8 p.m.
Some of the storms could become severe, capable of producing large hail (up to golf ball size in some spots), damaging winds more than 60 mph, and flash flooding in burn scar areas. An isolated tornado or two could not be ruled out.
The best time for storms in the Valley looks to be between 4 and 7 p.m. with the bulk of the storms from Yavapai County to the north.
More storm chances are in the forecast later this week.
