How Serious Are Monsoons in Dobson Woods, Mesa? (Phoenix: house, tornadoes)

[Endurance]

Hello Everybody,

Knowing that this upcoming weekend could be the first time this year that Arizona sees a significant monsoon storms, please tell me how dangerous they can be in Mesa (Dobson Woods) and what might be the best steps to follow in preventing massive damages. Our home has a flat roof. Does this actually matter? Thank you.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by Endurance

Hello Everybody,

Knowing that this upcoming weekend could be the first time this year that Arizona sees a significant monsoon storms, please tell me how dangerous they can be in Mesa (Dobson Woods) and what might be the best steps to follow in preventing massive damages. Our home has a flat roof. Does this actually matter? Thank you.

Hi Endurance,

It's really not that big of a deal. The usual precautions like having a flashlight handy if your power is disrupted and closing your patio umbrella, etc. should suffice. If you have trees with overhanging limbs, you should have those trimmed before monsoon season. If your vehicle isn't parked in your garage, make sure the windows are closed. Monsoons often arrive with lots of wind and blowing dust. I'm not aware of any instances of "massive damages," though I'm sure others will chime in if this is incorrect.

[Phxguy]

You never know how bad the storms wil be until they hit. I have several witnesses to some very nasty ones that have struck Mesa. But be prepared as the previous poster stated. If a big tree is close to your home (stay away from the windows, we've had a huge tree fall onto our home), bring in your patio chairs, place weights on garbage can (a few rocks will do), and yes if the storm is very bad there's a chance it'll rip the roof off. But those occur infrequently. Happy to answer any more questions.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Endurance

Hello Everybody,

Knowing that this upcoming weekend could be the first time this year that Arizona sees a significant monsoon storms, please tell me how dangerous they can be in Mesa (Dobson Woods) and what might be the best steps to follow in preventing massive damages. Our home has a flat roof. Does this actually matter? Thank you.

Monsoon storms are just moderate to severe thunderstorms like you have everywhere - but without much chance of hail or tornadoes. Because of the high heat there is often a big blast of wind and dust just before the rain (if the rain comes at all). The gust front does the most damage. The same common-sense approaches apply. And there won't be any chance of one this weekend. The weather service changed the definition of the season a couple years ago. So even if they say June 15th, it is pretty rare to see any storms in the Phoenix area until on or about July 4.

As for your roof, before the rain starts go up there and make sure your scuppers (drains) are not plugged with leaves etc. I had a flat roof on one house I owned and it always leaked. Nothing major, just water spots on the ceiling. Never again. I hope you have a better experience with yours.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Endurance

Hello Everybody,

Knowing that this upcoming weekend could be the first time this year that Arizona sees a significant monsoon storms, please tell me how dangerous they can be in Mesa (Dobson Woods) and what might be the best steps to follow in preventing massive damages. Our home has a flat roof. Does this actually matter? Thank you.

Just because the season officially starts today doesn't mean that anything is going to happen this weekend. There's nothing in the forecast, and even if there were, you really don't know whether there will be a storm, or how strong it will be, ahead of time.

You got good advice in the threads above. It's nothing to get that stressed about. The odds of your flat roof getting "ripped off" are ridiculously long. Do, as advised above, make sure that the drains are clear and that the roof is in good repair.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by observer53

Just because the season officially starts today doesn't mean that anything is going to happen this weekend. There's nothing in the forecast, and even if there were, you really don't know whether there will be a storm, or how strong it will be, ahead of time.

You got good advice in the threads above. It's nothing to get that stressed about. The odds of your flat roof getting "ripped off" are ridiculously long. Do, as advised above, make sure that the drains are clear and that the roof is in good repair.

A forecaster buddy of mine always said you have to have three straight days of 110 plus temps before the monsoon starts. There is good science in this too. Chilly temps like we have now indicate its going to be a while yet.

[LocoAZnative]

You see any monsoons storms this weekend or any weekend in the near future. We are looking at probably a mid to late July start. Now the East Valley does get hit the hardest with the monsoon storms all I can say is be prepared. Worse case scenerio is a micro burst that takes down powerline in a small area.

[Endurance]

Thank you all very much for your replies and sense of humor. It always helps. Have a lovely monsoon season. ):

[Upstate Nancy]

Which one did we have that they called the "non-soon"? A few years back I think in 09. But, the microbursts can take trees down. We had a small apple tree in the back, my husband planted, and it was doing great and the microburst sheered it off at the bottom, toppling it over. The same microburst, last year, toppled maybe 6-7 trees down in our area and some shingles down on multiple roofs. Not crazy about microbursts, but have only seen maybe 3-4 in many years here. Not sure how common they are.

[Bondurant]

Do the monsoons ever cause that much damage (aside from auto accidents)? Last summer was my first monsoon season and the worst I saw was palm tree leaves and bark all over the place. The hail in October did the worst of what I saw in person.