Flash flood at Arizona swimming hole kills 7; more people missing

[marybourg]

13. I don't think anyone ignored anything.

Last night's storm popped up extremely suddenly, was unusually violent, and I, at least, got no warning of either storm or flash flood until much too late for those folks to do anything. The warning - when it came - was nearly hysterical in nature - (Get out of the water immediately! Leave the area immediately!) There was no audible signal, at least from my carrier, Verizon, and the nature of desert storms and desert terrain (narrow canyons which fill up very quickly and flow down to areas where the weather is still calm also very quickly) makes episodes like this tragic but almost inevitable, especially as population increases in the desert

From the LOCAL paper:

"The thunderstorm hit about 8 miles upstream along Ellison Creek, which quickly flooded the narrow canyon where the swimmers were enjoying a cool dip a on a hot summer day.

"They had no warning. They heard a roar and it was on top of them," Sattelmaier said.
One of the first responders told the Arizona Republic that it was a "6 foot tall, 40 foot wide black wave" moving at 45 mph through a narrow canyon. It took down trees and boulders and soot and ash from the fire scar.

There had been thunderstorms throughout the area near Payson, about an hour and half's drive from Phoenix, but it wasn't raining where the swimmers were. During monsoon season, weather like this can strike furiously."

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2017/07/16/payson-flash-flood-results-four-deaths/482805001/