Monsoon Season Tips for new residents (Phoenix, Tucson: insurance, homes, neighborhoods)

[fcorrales80]

Ok, so most of this seems like common sense but you'd be surprised. The picture of the car in this link was taken after a storm last year (Monsoon 2007) LOL!

Motorists urged to heed flood warnings

Some of the "precautions" seem a much given that most people won't experience flooding conditions near their home, BUT there are some. In the north valley last year entire neighborhoods experienced flash flooding that damaged homes inside and out.

[ivanabacowboy]

Also since the area typically receives little rain, there are generally no actual storm sewers to carry the water away around where I live (north Phoenix/north Scottsdale). This little tidbit interested me coming from Cleveland. Other than some parking lots and the like which have drains, most roadways do not. Which means the only place for the water to go is...the roads and off to the sides of the roads. Where it accumulates in basins or washes (essentially a bunch of rocks on top of dirt where the water is supposed to soak down into the dirt). For a small rainshower, idea works. For anything resembling real rain-there will be flooding.

Watch for low-lying areas in roads. My personal favorites during last year's heavy rain were most of the intersections down Hayden. "HEY WHO PUT THE SWIMMING POOL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD???" Also right by where I live (Chauncey at Scottsdale) there is a big "dip" in the road----->which promptly became a swimming pool. An unsuspecting driver would not have anticipated it as the roadway approaching the intersection is a bit higher. And Scottsdale Rd north of the 101 was actually closed at a couple points I believe.

I would suspect that a real real real real heavy widespread rain over a short period would obliterate the intersection of FLW and Scottsdale Rd. A canal runs parallel and if that overflowed, that would be really really ugly.

Pay careful attention to the Stupid Motorist Law. If you are stupid enough to drive into a flooded area, they will bill you the cost of what it cost to fish you out.

[twiggy]

Good thread! A lot of people don't take monsoon seriously and get into trouble. Hopefully this will help.

[fcorrales80]

Originally Posted by ivanabacowboy

Also since the area typically receives little rain, there are generally no actual storm sewers to carry the water away around where I live (north Phoenix/north Scottsdale). This little tidbit interested me coming from Cleveland. Other than some parking lots and the like which have drains, most roadways do not. Which means the only place for the water to go is...the roads and off to the sides of the roads. Where it accumulates in basins or washes (essentially a bunch of rocks on top of dirt where the water is supposed to soak down into the dirt). For a small rainshower, idea works. For anything resembling real rain-there will be flooding.

Watch for low-lying areas in roads. My personal favorites during last year's heavy rain were most of the intersections down Hayden. "HEY WHO PUT THE SWIMMING POOL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD???" Also right by where I live (Chauncey at Scottsdale) there is a big "dip" in the road----->which promptly became a swimming pool. An unsuspecting driver would not have anticipated it as the roadway approaching the intersection is a bit higher. And Scottsdale Rd north of the 101 was actually closed at a couple points I believe.

I would suspect that a real real real real heavy widespread rain over a short period would obliterate the intersection of FLW and Scottsdale Rd. A canal runs parallel and if that overflowed, that would be really really ugly.

Pay careful attention to the Stupid Motorist Law. If you are stupid enough to drive into a flooded area, they will bill you the cost of what it cost to fish you out.

"Lack" of storm drains in your area is a problem, but I suspect it has to do with the capacity of the system that far from the city. Everywhere in Phoenix I have been has storm drains...especially downtown. I suspect one reason is because you live closer to natural washes and watersheds.

[motormaker]

A funny from a friend in Tucson,

But truth be told, the monsoon season started this week with thunderstorms and hail. Should have sent this last month!

Now this is Arizona!

It's so dry in Arizona that the Baptists are starting to baptize by sprinkling, the Methodists are using wet-wipes, the Presbyterians are giving out rain-checks, and the Catholics are praying for the wine to turn back into water.



Now, THAT'S Dry!

[Daniel NC]

It rains so little that The city of phoenix never invested in the expensive and complicated drainage systems that many eastern and northwestern cities use. We also have large riverbeds and floodplains that are raley running that taje up valuble space for development. This means roads get flooded and homes and businesses get swept away and damaged. And some people flood plain insurance.

[phoenixscorpiogirl]

I hate driving to work at night when's its raining that hard and streets are flooded, it's really hard to see and oftentimes tree branches and other debri end up in the road. It doesn't help that there's always some jerk driving like a madman tailgating me...."I don't care if you have a big truck I'm not speeding up for you! Pass me or stay off my a**"!

[crazysheli]

Interesting. As a Michigan girl relocating to Phoenix in just a few weeks this is helpful. I'm used to driving in rain and just the other day I was in a downpour with huge puddles, but it sounds like drainage is a real issue out there and what looks like a huge puddle may be much more than it seems.

[Phxguy]

Water here loves to run off and pool up elsewhere. And here in the valley, when the water has no where else to flow into it rises. This causes all of our bridges to be washed out, roads crumbled, and thousands if not millions of dollars worth of damage. Phoenix has got to have one of the worst flooding issues in the U.S that's NOT on the coast.

[KarmaPhx]

Originally Posted by crazysheli

Interesting. As a Michigan girl relocating to Phoenix in just a few weeks this is helpful. I'm used to driving in rain and just the other day I was in a downpour with huge puddles, but it sounds like drainage is a real issue out there and what looks like a huge puddle may be much more than it seems.

Not nearly as bad as driving in the snow, just use common sense, don't speed, take time to slow down, and you'll be fine.

My fiancee was born and raised in Michigan and she does just fine.