Rain closed roads, Little League, church carnival; washes flooded

Maricopa Little League opening day and the Our Lady of Grace Parish Festival and Carnival are rescheduled for this upcoming weekend after rain and flooding shut them down.

The National Weather Service reported 1.06 inches of rainfall fell on Maricopa Saturday prompting flooding and running washes.

Mark O’Malley, National Weather Service meteorologist, said “it was rather unusual to see an inch of rain” in one day.

O’Malley said although winters in Pinal County are generally marked by a few days of steady rainfall, an inch or more was “a fairly generous rainfall in the county overall.”

He said the area between San Tan Valley, Coolidge and Florence also saw more than an inch of rain, but less fell on the southeastern part of the county.

Officials with the Maricopa fire and police departments said there were no accidents or vehicle rescues as a result of the weather.

Opening day ceremonies for Maricopa Little League challenger, t-ball and machine pitch teams will be 9 a.m. Saturday at Pacana Park. All games previously scheduled for Saturday will be delayed by one hour.

Games scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday will remain the same weather and field conditions permitting.

Click here for more information on Maricopa Little League.

Maricopa Fire Chief Wade Brannon said drivers, for the most part, handled the weekend weather fine.

“It’s fairly rare for people to have issues crossing the roads,” Brannon said.

Maricopa Police Officer Jenny Alsidez, spokeswoman for the MPD, said although the police department doesn’t target flooded areas specifically, “we do try to get out there and patrol those areas just to make sure nobody ignored the signs or got stuck.”

On Saturday, Murphy Road from Peters and Nall Road to the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway was closed because of flooding.

Porter Road from Iron Point Road to Farrell Road was closed Sunday about 3 a.m. because of a running wash.