Storm rattles Maricopa, but July rainfall well below average

Many Maricopans spent the weekend cleaning up after Friday night’s storm. That included city staff, who straightened up city property and leant a hand in some neighborhoods.

Friday saw 0.13 inches of rainfall. Though that was well above the July 29 average of 0.6 inches, it still left the month well below it average monthly precipitation. The average month total is 1.4 inches. This year July saw only 0.55 inches.

For Maricopans, it was the monsoon-style wind that caused the damage. Predictions were for wind speeds up to 30 mph and gusts up to 50 mph, and that was fulfilled in many parts of town.

About a dozen trees at Copper Sky Regional Park went down. Public Works Director Bill Fay said some can be put upright again, but others won’t survive. That was typical of housing developments where some trees were uprooted while others were snapped off at the trunk or just lost limbs.

Fay said many private trees were blown into streets and common areas, and city workers have been helping to remove them “just to be neighborly.”

The wind also carried a great amount of dirt and caused other issues, like rearranging lawn decor and turning swimming pools into swamps.

“We have had both street sweepers running all day for the last few days as a lot of dirt got washed out onto the roads,” Fay said. “One of our traffic signal cameras got blown off center by the wind so it wasn’t pointing at traffic and would not trigger the light appropriately.  It had to be pointed back at the right angle.  Some signs were blown askew or down and needed to be reset.”