Arizona Getting Hammered Again

PHOENIX (AP) — The remnants of Tropical Storm Odile moved into Arizona on Wednesday and threatened to swamp some areas with 5 inches of rain in the second blast of hurricane-related weather to hit the desert region in the last two weeks.

Rain was falling across much of the state on Wednesday morning. In southern Arizona, a third of an inch to 2 inches fell overnight and some normally dry washes had flows, National Weather Service meteorologist Lee Carlaw in Tucson said.

Storm activity is expected to pick up during the day, and the forecast called for Tucson to get slammed with up to 5 inches, while Phoenix was expected to get soaked but with lesser amounts.

Residents around the state flocked to fire stations and other locations to get sandbags to place them around their homes as protection against floodwaters. Many experienced flooding last week after the remnants of Hurricane Norbert swamped parts of Phoenix and Tucson.

Weather and climate experts said it's rare to have back-to-back weather events like this in Arizona, and they attributed it to an especially active hurricane season in the Pacific.

Last week, the remnants of Hurricane Norbert caused deadly flash flooding in Arizona. The single-day rainfall totals in Phoenix eclipsed the average total precipitation for the entire summer. Freeways became submerged after pumping stations could not keep up with the downpour, and sections of Interstates 10 and 17 were closed most of the day.