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North Phoenix Storm: Sudden Deluge, Amazing Rainbow

October 23, 2018October 24, 2018 Robert Roy Britt weather

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As a thunderstorm wound down and the sun was setting, this rainbow arose over Anthem on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. Photo by Marius Britt

The chance of rain was just 20 percent today. That’s all Mother Nature needed. The downpour got serious just after 5 p.m. in Anthem as a series of thunderstorm cells soaked much of the I-17 corridor from Norterra through Black Canyon City to the Sunset Point Rest Area.

Then, just as it was setting, the sun poked out and generated an incredible, horizon-to-horizon rainbow.

This panorama image shows the rainbow to the east, and the source of its light — the sunset to the west. Photo by Marius Britt

This month was already the wettest October ever for Phoenix, with 5.32 inches so far at Sky Harbor Airport. It’s also the 4th wettest month ever, period. Local storm totals as of 6:15 p.m.:

Anthem West: 0.98 inches
Anthem North: 0.67 inches
Tramonto: 0.59 inches
Desert Hills: 0.28 inches
Sonoran Foothills: 0.28 inches
Norterra: 0.24 inches

The storms on radar at about 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. The marker points to Anthem. Image: WeatherBug

Heavy rain fell in pockets elsewhere in the Valley, while leaving many areas bone dry. Meanwhile, here was the scene at about 5 p.m. from downtown Phoenix:

While we are watching the roads with this wet weather, we couldn’t help but notice this beauty hovering over the #PHX skyline. #PHXWeather pic.twitter.com/QKZOkc4Ld1

— City of Phoenix, AZ (@CityofPhoenixAZ) October 24, 2018

The forecast calls for sunshine and highs in the low- to mid-80s starting Wednesday and through the weekend.

RAINFALL TOTALS SOURCE: Maricopa County Flood Control District

Robert Roy Britt

NoPho resident Robert Roy Britt has written for In&Out publications since its inception in 2005. Britt began his journalism career in New Jersey newspapers in the early 1990s. He later became a science writer and was editor-in-chief of the online media sites Space.com and Live Science. He has written four novels. .