Monsoon chaos in Southern Arizona: roads flooded, school disrupted | StormTracker 4 Monsoon Headquarters

MARANA, Ariz. (KVOA) – Monsoons swept through parts of Southern Arizona, impacting regions such as Marana and Red Rock, causing difficulties for drivers and students.

Dirk Van Schoonhoven, a driver stranded by the storm, described his experience. 

“Around 4:00, 4:30 in the afternoon there was a raging river, so I just parked and it was just sitting there waiting. And I was the first car in line, and I just sat there and all of a sudden a big wall of water comes rushing down off the side and hits my left side, and I couldn’t get the car started fast enough to back up,” Van Schoonhoven said.

A good Samaritan in a truck attempted to help, pulling his car back, but Van Schoonhoven’s car failed to start again, leaving him stranded northwest of Red Rock. Van Schoonhoven told News 4 Tucson he’s only lived in Arizona for two years. 

“Desert driving is all new, right and flooding is all new right? He said. “And you see the signs don’t enter while flooded, so you don’t, right? But how far back do you stay? I thought I was at the top of a knoll but even that was flooded.” 

In Marana, students at Marana Middle School faced disruptions as a shelter-in-place delayed pickups and bus rides home while after-school activities were canceled. The storm also knocked down trees at a nearby nursery and flooded parts of the frontage roads off Interstate 10.

The Tucson Storm Chasers were active after the storm. Valerie Farr, a member of the group, said it has been a “challenging” year, with chase efforts taking them farther from Tucson. She described the Monday night storm cells as “amazing.”