First Alert Weather: Strong winds, heavy rain blanket the valley Saturday afternoon

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - A strong line of monsoon storms rolled into several areas of the Valley Saturday afternoon, providing (some) relief from the extreme heat.

While lightning provided quite the show in the sky, it kept firefighters busy putting out tree fires caused by lightning strikes. The fast-moving storm was helped along thanks to nearly 60 mph wind gusts recorded in several locations, including at Sky Harbor.

The storms also caused several power outages as they moved from the East Valley to the West Valley. Just before 9 pm, SRP reported nearly 740 customers without power, while APS reported 4,755 customers without power in Phoenix metro neighborhoods.

A spokesperson for Sky Harbor Airport said tonight’s storm resulted in a 20-minute ground stop at the airport from about 8:30 p.m. until 8:50 p.m. During that time, officials say about 40 flights were held and 23 inbound flights were diverted to other airports. To check the latest flight conditions, click here.

Relief from the heat is expected to be short-lived as much of central and southern Arizona remains under First Alert Weather Day Sunday due to an excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service. Temperatures could reach nearly 114 degrees Sunday.