Storm overview and immediate impacts
On the first two days of September, a classic Southwest monsoon cell slammed the Phoenix metropolitan area, delivering the full suite of weather that defines the season – heavy rain, intense lightning, gusty winds and swirling dust. The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings for Maricopa County that stayed in effect until 7:30 PM MST on September 2, targeting the most populated districts of Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale.
Radar imagery showed the system centered near Gold Canyon, where wind gusts peaked at 55 mph. Those rapid bursts knocked down trees, snapped power lines and sent dust plumes blistering across highways, reducing visibility to a few hundred feet. Residents who had planned picnics, pool parties or outdoor concerts for the Labor Day weekend found themselves scrambling for shelter as thunder rolled overhead.
In the early hours of September 1, the storm coincided with an already sweltering backdrop—temperatures hovered around 108 °F, a few degrees above average for early September but modest compared with the record‑setting summer that ranked the 2025 season as the fourth hottest on record for Phoenix.
The combination of wind and wet conditions left about Phoenix monsoon storm customers in the dark. Roughly 8,300 homes and businesses served by Salt River Project (SRP) and Arizona Public Service (APS) reported outages. By the following Tuesday morning most of those customers had power restored; only a handful of SRP accounts remained without electricity, and APS showed no lingering outages on its public map.
Aftermath, recovery and the week ahead
Utility crews worked through the night, prioritizing critical infrastructure such as hospitals, water treatment plants and traffic signal hubs. Emergency managers coordinated with local fire departments to clear debris from major roadways, allowing emergency vehicles to navigate safely despite lingering dust clouds.
Beyond the immediate disruption, the storm delivered a modest amount of relief from the oppressive heat. Rainfall totals ranged from a tenth of an inch in downtown Phoenix to nearly a quarter of an inch in higher‑elevation neighborhoods on the eastern fringe of the valley. Soil moisture gained a short‑term boost, which could temper the next wave of heat spikes.
Forecasters predict that the moisture surge will keep the atmosphere primed for additional showers later in the week. The highest probabilities of precipitation are slated for Thursday and Friday, when the synoptic ridge north of Arizona will push new thunderstorm clusters toward the lower desert. Residents should stay alert for further severe thunderstorm warnings, especially if wind speeds climb again.
Community leaders are urging families to keep emergency kits handy—flashlights, batteries, bottled water and a plan for cooling off if temperatures soar again. While the monsoon brings much-needed rain, it also underscores the vulnerability of a rapidly expanding desert metropolis to extreme weather events.