First Alert Weather Day: Potential flash flooding around metro Phoenix and much of Arizona

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - A First Alert Weather Day has been issued by the Arizona’s Family weather team Friday for a continued threat of flash flooding across central Arizona and much of the state.

The atmosphere is ripe and ready to fire thunderstorms as we saw storms developing during the late morning hours. These storms are very capable of producing copious amounts of rain in a short period of time. And we’ll see a lot of outflows interacting potentially firing storms into the nighttime hours. Blowing dust is a probability as well.

Right now it’s looking like the highest chances for rain are in the East Valley over the next 12 hours but anywhere in town could see big thunderstorms. Some of the rainfall rates in the early storms were running up to two inches per hour. We’re also keeping a close eye on the various burn scars around the state as flooding is likely in those areas with just a small amount of rain. And across the state, many areas are saturated from recent rain, especially northwest Arizona. That’s just making the flood threat higher.

So expect scattered thunderstorms overnight with a chance of showers/storms lingering into Saturday morning. Depending on how strong the storms are today will determine the likelihood of storms tomorrow, but for now, that chance for PM storms must stay in the Saturday forecast.

To check rainfall totals near you, click/tap here.

AZFamily's First Alert Weather Mobile App

AZFamily's First Alert Weather App First lets you track storms and get severe weather alerts wherever you are. Get animated radar, hourly and 10-day forecasts, video updates, rainfall totals, and an interactive traffic map. It also provides a 250-meter radar, which is the highest resolution possible. This radar allows you to look into the future so you can see where the storm is headed.

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