The National Weather Service reported continuing flooding along parts of the Verde, Salt and Gila rivers in Maricopa County, Arizona, Sunday morning as upstream dam releases kept water elevated.
Four Phoenix-office warnings issued between 7:12 and 7:31 a.m. Mountain Standard Time November 8 remain in effect until 11 a.m. MST Monday, November 9. They cover specified river corridors and recreational areas rather than every neighborhood in the county.
Along the Verde River between Fort McDowell and the Salt River, the weather service said recreation on or near the river would be unsafe. A gauge near the Verde–Salt confluence measured flow exceeding 1,800 cubic feet per second at 7:26 a.m.
A separate Salt River notice identifies flooding in recreational areas around and downstream of that confluence. The bulletin attributes the continuing flooding to upstream floodgate releases at Bartlett Dam.
Farther downstream, the warning for the Salt River below Granite Reef Dam includes low-water crossings upstream of Tempe Town Lake, including McKellips Road. At 7:12 a.m., dam operators reported releases of about 1,400 cubic feet per second from Granite Reef, while a downstream gauge measured approximately 2,000 cubic feet per second.
Those are different measurements at different points. They should not be added together or treated as a single uniform river flow.
For the Gila River, the agency cited releases from Tempe Town Lake and continuing releases farther upstream at Granite Reef. A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gauge near Old U.S. 80 showed roughly 1,000 cubic feet per second. The affected locations listed include Goodyear, Liberty, Arlington, Phoenix International Raceway and Painted Rock Dam.
The weather service warns that inundated low-water crossings may be impassable and advises motorists to avoid flooded roads and barricades. Its bulletins report flooding, without providing a verified count of damaged buildings or injuries.
Sources: NWS Phoenix — November 8 7:31 a.m. MST flood warning: https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.9e3fe5e9b51e685afcdfac91d40e6d74e3f9520a.001.1 NWS Phoenix — November 8 7:26 a.m. MST flood warning: https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.15ccbfb719944a4853fc6aa75cf4ab6b6b0d2596.001.1 NWS Phoenix — November 8 7:21 a.m. MST flood warning: https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.f3f2076b0f8c039911b84abad646327c585b289a.001.1 NWS Phoenix — November 8 7:12 a.m. MST flood warning: https://api.weather.gov/alerts/urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.f6d7c59e125aab059b9e10b42696c8eb063109fc.001.1