Flash Floods Force Evacuations in Sedona and Pagosa Springs; One Dead in Henderson After Friday's Storm

A fresh round of Pacific storms is hammering the Southwest. Mandatory evacuations are in effect in Arizona and Colorado today, Nov. 1.

The rain started Saturday evening, Oct. 31, and the National Weather Service expects flash flooding in already saturated areas through Monday. Forecasters estimate as much as 4 inches could fall across the region.

Pagosa Springs braces for a record crest

The worst-case forecast is in southwestern Colorado. Officials in Pagosa Springs warned in a Facebook post of potentially "catastrophic flooding" as the San Juan River was forecast to crest at more than 19 feet around 11 p.m. Sunday. That crest has not yet happened.

The Archuleta County Sheriff's Office put the number in historical terms. During the 1911 flood, which wiped out most of the town as it then existed, the river crested at about 17.8 feet.

"This is a potentially catastrophic flood event. Extensive damage is expected," the sheriff's office said.

Town officials told anyone in low-lying areas along the San Juan, Rio Blanco, Navajo and Piedra Rivers to go to a designated shelter at a local church. They urged residents to leave immediately, warning that emergency crews may be extremely limited during the worst of the storm. The highway into town was set to close to inbound traffic Sunday afternoon.

Katie German, who owns Bruin Coffee in Pagosa Springs, said downtown had been evacuated and streets were flooding.

Arizona: Sedona, Camp Verde and Tucson

In Arizona, officials in Sedona ordered residents near Oak Creek to leave immediately. Floodwaters were rising rapidly and multiple people were trapped in their homes. Camp Verde issued its own evacuation order for residents near the Verde River, West Clear Creek and Wet Beaver Creek.

Farther south, Tucson has seen flash floods, river flooding and swift boat rescues. "We are getting two or three months of rain in a span of a couple of days," said Aaron Hardin, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Tucson.

The weather service has issued flood watches for nearly all of Arizona and parts of southern Utah, southwestern Colorado, western New Mexico and southern Nevada. That takes in the sparsely populated Four Corners region.

Henderson death and a historically wet October in Las Vegas

The latest storm follows a deadly Friday in the Las Vegas Valley. Rain and hail caused flash flooding on Oct. 30, and Henderson Fire crews carried out three water rescues around 1 p.m., involving four people.

One person pulled from a wash near Lake Mead Parkway went into cardiac arrest. That person was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, a Henderson city spokesperson said. The city has not released the victim's identity.

Two people were rescued, uninjured, from a vehicle swept off Lake Mead Parkway east of the Lake Las Vegas entrance. A third person was pulled from the roof of a vehicle trapped in floodwaters near North Milan Street and Drake Street, also without injury. Lake Mead Parkway east of Lake Las Vegas Parkway was closed by flooding and debris.

Rainfall hit 0.50 inches in 30 minutes just after noon in eastern Henderson and Lake Las Vegas, and the weather service issued a flash flood warning there until 3:45 p.m. County gauges recorded more than 1.5 inches in parts of the valley, and downtown Las Vegas saw over an inch. Ping-pong-ball-sized hail fell east of downtown.

Friday's downpour did not break an official record. Chris Outler, lead meteorologist at the weather service's Las Vegas office, said it never hit the official gauge at Harry Reid International Airport. As of late Friday, the airport had logged 1.22 inches for October, tying for second behind the record 1.45 inches in 2005.

Much of that water came earlier in the month. The remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel dumped 1.08 inches on Las Vegas into Sunday morning, Oct. 11, tying the October single-day record. The last time that much rain fell in one October day was 1947. Video showed water rushing down a street near the Strip and storm channels overwhelmed near major hotels.

What's next

The saturated ground is the problem. Every new inch now runs off into creeks and rivers that have not had time to drain.

The San Juan River's forecast crest of more than 19 feet around 11 p.m. Sunday is the immediate test for Pagosa Springs. Flood watches across the region remain in place into Monday, Nov. 2.