Rain sets record for Phoenix; flooding hits So. Calif.

PHOENIX — A major storm packing heavy rains pounded the Phoenix area early on Monday, forcing schools to cancel classes and closing roads including sections of two major freeways.

The downpour brought chaos to the morning commute for many, turning some highways into lakes, with officials saying parts of both Interstates 10 and 17 were shut to traffic.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer declared a statewide emergency for areas affected by the severe rainfall and flooding.

“Non-essential state employees should stay home today. If you must travel, please do so with caution & BE SAFE!” Brewer said on Twitter, alongside the hashtag #TurnAroundDontDrown.

A record-setting 3.29 inches of rain landed on Sky Harbor International Airport, beating the 2.91 inches that fell in September 1939 for the most rainfall in a single day in Phoenix.

One city on the southeast outskirts of Phoenix saw more than 5-1/2 inches of rain.

“We’ve made it through the worst,” Mark O’Malley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix, said late on Monday morning. “We’re probably done for the day for most of the Phoenix area.”

He said the moisture-heavy air lingering over metropolitan Phoenix will mean a roughly 30 percent chance of rain for Tuesday, followed by a drying trend over the next few days.

At its peak, airport officials reported that flights were delayed for 25 minutes and roughly 20,000 people were without power from the deluge because of downed power poles and lines throughout the Phoenix area.

Multiple schools in the Phoenix area canceled classes for the day, and others pushed back the start of the school day until later in the day.

Local television stations broadcast footage of severe flooding, with some abandoned vehicles nearly completely submerged. As of late morning, the cars were shown being towed away off the highways.

Authorities said several people were rescued from vehicles trapped by the flood water, and that the roof of a grocery store partially collapsed in the storm. There were no injuries.

In southern Arizona, authorities also reported flooded streets from rains that swept through the area.

In Southern California, the flooding includes some lanes of Interstate 10 in the Indio area, the California Highway Patrol said. Flooding also forced the shutdown of streets in Palm Springs and Cathedral City.

Raindrops, rare amid a historic statewide drought, were dampening dried-out Los Angeles, and the rain cover made a rare appearance over the infield at Dodger Stadium, where the team was set to play later in the day.

The mountains and deserts were under a flash-flood watch because of substantial monsoonal moisture remaining in place and the slow movement of the thunderstorms.

Forecasters said a drier air mass will arrive by Wednesday.

Rain, heavy at times, brought similar flooding to the inland region Sunday, when about 70 vehicles became stranded when water came over the guardrail along Highway 74 in the San Jacinto Mountains community of Mountain Center, California Department of Transportation spokeswoman Terri Kasinga said.

AP writer Alina Hartounian contributed to this report.