A monsoon struck parts of Maricopa County, Arizona, on Thursday night, leaving thousands without power and wreaking havoc in the area.
Roughly 86,000 people were without power as parts of the Valley area of Maricopa County were hit with an enormous monsoon storm that brought rain and dust, causing pandemonium, according to AZ Family. Wind gusts hit at least 71 mph throughout Phoenix, forcing local airports into chaos.
Officials issued a ground stop at Phoenix International Airport, and all departures were delayed by at least an hour as the weather event moved through the region. Travels leaving Mesa-Gateway Airport were also stuck with serious delays.
Tonight’s dust storm blowing into Phoenix. Video courtesy of my niece, Jasmine Loew.#azfamily#FirstAlert pic.twitter.com/k4cOqy1uJP
— Morgan Loew (@morganloewcbs5) September 1, 2023
Arizona State University was forced to delay its football match against Southern Utah University as lightning storms pounded the area. Footage from the game show the dust blowing through before officials put the pause into place.
🚨PAC 12 AFTER DARK ALERT🚨
There’s a dust storm at the Arizona State game, but that didn’t stop Jaden Rashada from throwing a TD to Troy Omeire on the fade route!
Rashada in the 1st half: 12-16, 182 yards, 2 TDs #SunDevils pic.twitter.com/ENWQJstfxC
— FOLLOW: @TSV__1 (@TSV__1) September 1, 2023
Lightning also caused a palm tree to catch fire, and even struck a home in Phoenix. Four people were inside the home as a fire broke out in the attic area before it was extinguished, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Insane Video Shows ‘Upwards’ Lightning In Kansas City)
The lightning storm is also thought to have started a small fire near a communications tower near South Mountain. Local crews said a small area appeared to be burned, but no significant damage was reported.