The National Weather Service has 25 flood warnings and watches active across 14 states Monday, with flash flooding tied to heavy rainfall threatening burn scars in Arizona, mountain terrain in Nevada and eastern California, and river valleys stretching from Utah to West Virginia.
The most acute risk is in northern Arizona, where the Weather Service warns that excessive rainfall could trigger flash flooding in creeks, normally dry washes and recently burned areas of Yavapai, Coconino, northern Gila, Navajo and central and southern Apache counties. Forecasters specifically flagged slot canyons and narrow drainages, cautioning hikers, boaters and paddleboarders to reconsider trips through midday and into the evening. Warnings also extend across the Kaibab Plateau, Grand Canyon Country, the Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains.
A parallel threat is unfolding in the Sierra Nevada, where thunderstorms could produce flash flooding across the Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Mono County and western Nevada’s Reno-Carson City-Minden region and Mineral and Southern Lyon counties.
In Appalachia, the Weather Service has flood warnings covering dozens of counties across West Virginia, Kentucky, southeast Ohio and southwest Pennsylvania, driven by the same excessive-rainfall pattern. Affected counties include Boyd, Carter, Greenup and Lawrence in northeast Kentucky, and Athens, Gallia, Jackson, Meigs, Morgan, Vinton and Washington in southeast Ohio, with warnings extending west through the Kanawha, Ohio and Big Sandy river valleys into Wayne, Cabell, Mason, Kanawha and Logan counties in West Virginia. Much of central and eastern Kentucky is also under watch, from Shelby and Franklin counties near Lexington south through Laurel, Whitley, Bell and Harlan counties along the Tennessee border.
Utah is dealing with its own cluster of warnings, spanning the Wasatch Plateau and Book Cliffs, the Sanpete and Sevier valleys, the San Rafael Swell, and southern Utah’s Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon Country, Capitol Reef and the Glen Canyon Recreation Area around Lake Powell.
Additional flood alerts are posted in Alaska, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee and Wyoming, rounding out the 25-alert total. The Weather Service is urging residents in warned areas to have a way to receive alerts and to avoid low-water crossings, dry washes and canyon terrain while warnings remain in effect. Areas including Phoenix weather and Las Vegas weather fall within or near the warned zones and should watch for updated guidance through the evening.