Monsoon flooding sweeps truck into Phoenix wash, disrupts I-17 and SR-238

Monsoon storms dumped more than an inch of rain on parts of metro Phoenix on Sept. 29, flooding desert washes and disrupting highway traffic — a truck was swept away in a wash, a motorist was reported sitting on the roof of his vehicle, and wet roads forced lane blockages on I-17 and a closure on westbound SR-238, azcentral.com reported.

The person in the truck that was swept away near 14th Street and Carefree Highway got out safely and declined assistance, said Dave Moyer, a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office spokesperson. At 8:36 a.m., deputies were heading to a separate incident at 327th Avenue and Salome Highway, where someone was reported sitting on his vehicle's roof in a wash.

Rain was expected to shift mostly east of Phoenix later in the morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Kuhlman wrote in the agency's Sept. 29 forecast discussion. Flood watches were to continue through the early evening across much of south-central and eastern Arizona.

The Arizona Department of Transportation reported wet roads that caused crashes and delays: a crash blocked the two right southbound lanes of Interstate 17 past Glendale Avenue (all lanes reopened at 9:35 a.m.), and westbound State Route 238 was closed near Ralston Road, west of Maricopa, because of flooding (reopened at 9:45 a.m.).

Why it matters: Desert washes turn into rivers fast — never try to cross a flooded roadway, and expect sudden lane closures around Phoenix during monsoon bursts.