Severe thunderstorms hit Phoenix area; damaging hail was predicted

Alexandra Hardle, Shaun McKinnon and Perry Vandell, Arizona Republic
Updated ·2 min read

A severe thunderstorm swept across the West Valley on Thursday evening, with rain still expected overnight, possibly heavy.

Glendale, Surprise, north Goodyear, El Mirage, Youngtown, Sun City, Waddell, Litchfield Park, Luke Air Force Base, and downtown Peoria were expected to be hit with rain, lightning and quarter-size hail. Damage to vehicles was expected.

A wet and often loud line of rainstorms had swept across metro Phoenix on Thursday afternoon, darkening skies and triggering an earlier thunderstorm warning from the National Weather Service.

Metro Phoenix saw scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms before noon Thursday as a storm system moved over the Phoenix area, weather service meteorologist Ted Whittock said.

There was an average 30-minute delay to departing flights out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport due to thunderstorms as of 2 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Association. The delays were likely to increase. Just before 3 p.m., there were three canceled flights, two diverted flights and 112 delayed flights.

Weather alerts across Arizona

There were reports of pea-sized hail throughout the Valley. About 1:30 p.m., most of the lightning was concentrated to the south of downtown Phoenix, Whittock said.

A flood advisory was posted for parts of the central, West and south Valley as heavy rain accumulated.

Conditions were becoming more favorable for the development of additional thunderstorms. Some storms were expected to become strong.

Pea-size hail along with some gusts above 30 mph were possible.

Locations impacted include Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Glendale, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Tempe, Peoria, Surprise, Avondale, Goodyear, Buckeye, Casa Grande, Apache Junction, El Mirage, Florence, Fountain Hills, Paradise Valley, Coolidge and Tolleson.

The storm was caused by a cold front moving through the area that is common for this time of year, Whittock said.

"We did see some wider coverage than originally anticipated," Whittock said.

Warmer, sunnier days were expected on Friday and throughout the weekend.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Severe thunderstorms hit Phoenix area; damaging hail was predicted