State meteorologists issued a broad suite of warnings and watches across Arizona as intense showers and thunderstorms moved through multiple regions Monday, prompting flash flood warnings in several counties and extended flood watches for much of the high country and river valleys into Tuesday. The active alerts included numerous flash flood warnings with specific expiration times set for Monday evening, flood watches that cover large swaths of central and northern Arizona through Tuesday night, flood advisories for parts of Cochise County, and separate extreme heat watches that begin later in the week for other portions of the state.
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Flash flood warnings were posted for multiple counties with staggered start and end times Monday evening. Among those, a warning was designated from 7:21 p.m. MST until 10:15 p.m. MST for areas of Santa Cruz County and Cochise County. Navajo County had a flash flood warning in effect from 5:49 p.m. MDT until 8:45 p.m. MDT. Mohave County was covered by a flash flood warning that remained in effect until 9:45 p.m. MST. Gila County saw two separate flash flood warning periods listed for Monday evening: one from 6:39 p.m. MST until 9:45 p.m. MST and another from 7:00 p.m. MST until 10:00 p.m. MST. Coconino County was under a flash flood warning from 4:49 p.m. MST until 7:45 p.m. MST. Additional flash flood warnings for Cochise County showed expiration times of 8:00 p.m. MST, 8:45 p.m. MST and 9:15 p.m. MST in various notices. Apache County and Navajo County both had a flash flood warning in effect until 8:45 p.m. MDT in a separate listing.
Cochise County in particular appeared repeatedly in the advisory listings, with multiple flash flood warnings and flood advisories carrying differing end times throughout the evening. Flood advisories for Cochise County were posted with expirations at 8:15 p.m. MST and 8:45 p.m. MST in two separate notices, and several flash flood warnings listed Cochise County alongside neighboring areas with expiration times ranging from early evening into later Monday night. The multiple entries reflect overlapping alerts for different elevations and sub-regions within the county.
Officials also issued flood watches that extend into Tuesday for broad areas of central and northern Arizona, encompassing mountain ranges, plateaus, river valleys and canyon country. One flood watch was scheduled from 11:00 a.m. MST Tuesday until 10:00 p.m. MST Tuesday and included San Carlos, Globe/Miami, southeast Gila County, Tonto Basin, the eastern Mogollon Rim, northern Gila County, the Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County, Marble and Glen Canyons, the Yavapai County Mountains, the Coconino Plateau, the White Mountains, the western Mogollon Rim, the Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County, Grand Canyon Country, the Little Colorado River Valley in Coconino County and the Kaibab Plateau. Another flood watch beginning Monday at noon MST and running until 10:00 p.m. MST Tuesday covered the Dragoon/Mule/Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains including Bisbee/Canelo Hills/Madera Canyon, the Chiricahua Mountains including Chiricahua National Monument, the Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys including Clifton and Safford, the Upper San Pedro River Valley including Sierra Vista and Benson, eastern Cochise County below 5,000 feet including Douglas and Wilcox, the White Mountains of Graham and Greenlee Counties including Hannagan Meadow, the Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains including Mount Graham, and the Upper Santa Cruz River and Altar Valleys including Nogales. A separate flood watch from Tuesday 12:00 p.m. MDT until Tuesday 11:00 p.m. MDT addressed the Northeast Plateaus and Mesas south of Highway 264, the Black Mesa area and the Northeast Plateaus and Mesas northward of Highway 264.
FOX10 weather map showing a Flood Watch highlighted over parts of Arizona as a presenter gestures to areas at risk of excessive runoff and flash flooding.
A separate set of warnings covered the potential for severe storms and localized heavy runoff. The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Apache County from 8:25 p.m. MDT until 9:00 p.m. MDT Monday. Several flash flood warnings listed Apache County in combination with Navajo County with expiration times into the later evening. Flood advisories and a special weather statement were also posted for selected areas; the special weather statement extended until 8:00 p.m. MST and named the Mazatzal Mountains, Rio Verde/Salt River, Fountain Hills/East Mesa, New River Mesa, the Pinal and Superstition Mountains, Tonto Basin and Cave Creek/New River.
Seven‑day rain total forecast from FOX10 displaying heavy precipitation (purples/reds) across central and northern Arizona, indicating areas likely to see the most significant rainfall.
In addition to the flood-related alerts, the forecast package included extreme heat watches that are scheduled to take effect later in the week into next week for other parts of the state. An extreme heat watch was listed from Thursday at 10:00 a.m. MST until Monday at 8:00 p.m. MST for a broad list of locations including West Pinal County, central Phoenix, northwest Pinal County, southeast Yuma County, North Phoenix/Glendale, Fountain Hills/East Mesa, South Mountain/Ahwatukee, Buckeye/Avondale, the Northwest Valley, Kofa, Southeast Valley/Queen Creek, Rio Verde/Salt River, Gila Bend, Superior, New River Mesa, the Sonoran Desert National Monument, Aguila Valley, Deer Valley, Cave Creek/New River, central La Paz, the Gila River Valley, Scottsdale/Paradise Valley, Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, Tonopah Desert and the East Valley. Another extreme heat watch was posted from Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. MST until Monday at 8:00 p.m. MST for Parker Valley and parts of Yuma County.
The listings provided by forecasters indicate an active and complex pattern with short-duration, high-impact hazards like flash flooding and severe storms in some locations while other parts of the state are slated to move into a period of extreme heat later in the week. The official alert times in the notices run through Monday evening for many flash flood warnings and flood advisories, with flood watches and additional watches remaining in effect into Tuesday and heat watches beginning midweek and continuing into the following week. Exact expiration times and the geographic specifics for each warning, watch and advisory are included in the posted notices for the respective counties, mountain ranges, plateaus and river valleys across the state.
Actual impacts from the monsoon storms included three water rescues in Prescott Valley, where floodwaters over 5 feet high entered homes, knocked down walls, and displaced shipping containers. Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority crews responded to the flooding north of Prescott on July 20, as detailed in local storm reports and azcentral coverage.
On July 20, 2026 a United Airlines flight (Flight 2078 from Houston) was diverted for an emergency landing at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale because of the severe weather; airline officials said 154 passengers and six crew were aboard and buses were used to shuttle customers to Phoenix Sky Harbor to complete their trips.
The storms produced damaging outflow winds across the Valley — the National Weather Service and local reporting recorded gusts up to 68 mph near Phoenix Sky Harbor — and a ground stop was issued for inbound flights; the FAA reported departing flights from Sky Harbor were being delayed by an average of about 45 minutes that night.
Power companies reported widespread but short-lived outages: Salt River Project showed roughly 11,400 customers and Arizona Public Service about 1,300 customers without power late Monday evening, with most service restored by Tuesday morning.
National Weather Service warning products and radar estimates showed localized storm totals well above a typical downpour, with radar-indicated rainfall up to about 4 inches in parts of Coconino County and widespread 1–2 inch amounts in portions of Cochise and southeast Graham counties; several flash flood warnings noted 1–2 inches already fallen with additional amounts possible.