Hassayampa River in Wickenburg, 02/14/2005, D. Gardner

Flood Control District of Maricopa County
Stephen D. Waters, Engineering Division, Flood Warning Branch

Storm Report : February 2005

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Meteorology ........................................................................ 3
Precipitation ....................................................................... 6
Runoff ............................................................................. 13
Flood Damage in Maricopa County........................................... 19

TABLES
Table 1 Climatological Report for February 2005 ........................... 4
Table 2 Summary of Selected Impoundments at FCD Stations ...........13
Table 3 Summary of Selected Streamflow Readings at FCD Stations ...14

FIGURES
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
Figure 13
Figure 14
Figure 15
Figure 16
Figure 17
Figure 18
Figure 19
Figure 20
Figure 21

500 millibar Heights and Anomalies ................................ 3
Feb.11th GOES Satellite Photo ....................................... 3
Feb. 2005 Precipitation Ranking .................................... 5
Maricopa County Isohyetal Precipitation Map for Feb. 2005.... 6
AZ Precipitation for February, 1895-2005 ......................... 7
AZ Precip. for Feb. 1998-2005, Normal & Departure ............ 7
Daily Total Rainfall for February 2005 at Four Stations ......... 8
Feb. Daily Rainfall in 4 Wet Years, Mt. Union..................... 9
Feb. Daily Rainfall in 4 Wet Years, Fraesfield Mountain ........ 9
Feb. Daily Rainfall in 4 Wet Years, Queen Creek Road ........10
Feb. Daily Rainfall in 4 Wet Years, Bender Wash ................10
Frequency Plot of Feb. Rainfall, Mt. Union.......................11
Frequency Plot of Feb. Rainfall, Fraesfield Mountain ..........11
Frequency Plot of Feb. Rainfall, Queen Creek Road ............12
Frequency Plot of Feb. Rainfall, Bender Wash...................12
Salt/Gila System Hydrograph for Feb. 2005 ......................16
Indian Bend Wash Hydrograph for Feb. 2005 .....................16
Cave Creek Hydrograph for Feb. 2005.............................17
Rittenhouse FRS Stage Hydrograph for Feb. 2005 ...............17
US Streamflow Ranking for Feb. 2005 .............................18
Western US Reservoir Percent of Average as of 3/1/05 ........18

A special thank you to members of the NWS, USGS, and NRCS for supplying
several of the above figures.

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 2 of 19

METEOROLOGY
The fall and winter months leading up to February 2005 were well above normal in terms of rainfall.
A persistent blocking pattern (Figure 1) had set up off the coast of British Columbia, causing a split
in the jet stream. The polar jet was forced over Alaska, while the pacific jet entered the United
States over southern California and Arizona. Storms forming in the gulf of Alaska were forced
southward, where their counter-clockwise circulation gathered-up large amounts of moisture from
the tropical Pacific. This phenomenon is often referred to as the “Pineapple Express” (Figure 2).
Contributing to this effect were a weak El Niño in the east-central Pacific, and a relatively strong
episode of a tropical disturbance known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). From early
January 2005, the MJO over the central Pacific gradually shifted eastward toward the west coast of
the US, allowing passing storms to tap deep tropical moisture.

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 2
Storm Report : February 2005, Page 3 of 19

Table 1 - Climatological Report for February 2005 (From NWS Phoenix WFO)
CXUS55 KPSR 021845 CCC
CLMPHX
MONTHLY CLIMATOLOGICAL REPORT...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
1145 AM MST TUE MAR 2 2005
PHOENIX WEATHER STATISTICS FOR FEBRUARY 2005
...FEBRUARY 2005 HAD 3.01 INCHES OF RAIN MAKING IT THE 5TH WETTEST
FEBRUARY ON RECORD. THE WETTEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD WAS IN 1905 WHEN
4.64 INCHES FELL. OTHER HIGHER AMOUNTS IN FEBRUARY WERE 3.71 INCHES
IN 1931...3.18 INCHES IN 1935 AND 3.15 INCHES IN 2003
AVERAGE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE
AVERAGE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE
AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL

67.0
51.4
59.2
MINUS 0.7

NORMAL 71.4
NORMAL 48.4
NORMAL 59.9
DEGREES

HIGHEST AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE
LOWEST AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE

66.0 IN 1991
48.6 IN 1939

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE THIS MONTH
LOWEST TEMPERATURE THIS MONTH

72 ON THE 9TH...16TH AND 17TH
46 ON THE 8TH

RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR MONTH

92 ON THE 27TH IN 1986
AND THE 25TH IN 1921
24 ON THE 8TH IN 1933
AND THE 7TH IN 1899

RECORD LOW
NUMBER
NUMBER
NUMBER
NUMBER

OF
OF
OF
OF

TEMPERATURE FOR MONTH
DAYS
DAYS
DAYS
DAYS

WITH
WITH
WITH
WITH

MINIMUM
MINIMUM
MAXIMUM
MAXIMUM

COOLING DEGREE DAYS BASE 65
HEATING DEGREE DAYS BASE 65

TEMPERATURE
TEMPERATURE
TEMPERATURE
TEMPERATURE
0
156

NORMAL
NORMAL

50
55
60
70
15
169

OR
OR
OR
OR

LOWER 11
HIGHER 5
LOWER
2
HIGHER 5
SEASONAL TOTAL
SEASONAL TOTAL

4
798

TOTAL MONTHLY PRECIPITATION
NORMAL MONTHLY PRECIPITATION
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL

3.01 INCHES
0.77 INCHES
PLUS 2.24 INCHES

GREATEST PRECIPITATION IN 24 HOURS
PRECIPITATION YEAR TO DATE
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL YEAR TO DATE

1.05 INCHES ON THE 18-19
4.86 INCHES
PLUS 3.26 INCHES

GREATEST MONTHLY PRECIPITATION
LEAST
MONTHLY PRECIPITATION
NUMBER OF THUNDERSTORM DAYS
NUMBER OF MEASURABLE RAIN DAYS
PERCENT OF POSSIBLE SUNSHINE

4.64 INCHES IN 1905
0.00 INCHES IN 2002 AND 3 PREVIOUS
YEARS
1
11
56

NORMAL
NORMAL
NORMAL

1
4
80

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 4 of 19

AVERAGE WIND SPEED
HIGHEST PEAK GUST

6.0 MPH
33 MPH
AND

NORMAL 5.9 MPH
FROM THE WEST ON THE 23RD
FROM THE EAST ON THE 2ND

HIGHEST BAROMETRIC SEA LEVEL PRESSURE 30.20 INCHES ON THE 2ND
LOWEST BAROMETRIC SEA LEVEL PRESSURE 29.74 INCHES ON THE 5TH
RECORDS BROKEN OR EQUALLED DURING THE MONTH
DATE
11
19

TYPE
PRECIP
PRECIP

NEW RECORD

OLD RECORD

YEAR/YEARS

0.77 INCHES
0.93 INCHES

0.54 INCHES
0.64 INCHES

1915
1915

WFO PHOENIX AZ

Please note that this information is preliminary and unofficial.
Official and certified climatological data can be accessed at:
National Climatic Data Center

FIGURE 3

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 5 of 19

PRECIPITATION
Summary Statistics:
Total FCDMC Automated Rain Gages Installed: 284
Overall Percent Operational Automated Rain Gages for the Month: 99.68%

FIGURE 4

Figure 4 above was created with Arcview 3.2 and Spatial Analyst, using edited rainfall
data from Flood Control District automated rain stations (black dots). Daily-total data
for all stations for the month can be downloaded from the FCDMC website at:
http://156.42.96.39/alert/Rain/pcp0205.pdf
Storm Report : February 2005, Page 6 of 19

Precipitation for the month of February, 2005 can be broken into three distinct storm
periods. First, a minor storm brushed the northern parts of the County on Feb. 6th
and 7th. The heaviest storm drenched central Arizona on the 10th through the 12th.
Finally, a procession of storms affected the entire State from the 17th through the
24th, with slight breaks on the 21st and 22nd. Most ALERT stations recorded rainfall on
at least 10 of the 28 days in February – many of the northern stations recorded rainfall
on 14 or more days. Figure 5 below shows that, for all of Arizona, 2005 is second only
to 1980 as the wettest February since records have been kept.

Figure 5

In Figure 6 below, the vertical green bars on the right show the number and
magnitude of wet months since August of 2004. It is a striking contrast to the
previous below normal (drought) months shown in red.

Figure 6
Storm Report : February 2005, Page 7 of 19

Date
2/28/2005

2/27/2005

2/26/2005

2/25/2005

2/24/2005

2/23/2005

2.60 in

2/22/2005

2.50

2/21/2005

Daily Precipitation, Total is 2.60 inches

2/20/2005

2/19/2005

20
05
20
05
2/
11
/2
00
5
2/
13
/2
00
5
2/
15
/2
00
5
2/
17
/2
00
5
2/
19
/2
00
5
2/
21
/2
00
5
2/
23
/2
00
5
2/
25
/2
00
5
2/
27
/2
00
5

2/
9/

Daily Precipitation, Total is 12.17 inches

2/18/2005

2/17/2005

2/16/2005

0.00
2/15/2005

Date

2/14/2005

0.00
2/13/2005

0.50

2/12/2005

0.50

2/11/2005

1.00

2/10/2005

1.00

2/
7/

Figure 7

2/9/2005

2.00

2/8/2005

Bender Wash Rain Gage , Southwest County

2/7/2005

2.50

2/6/2005

3.00

2/5/2005

0.00

2/
5/
20
05

*** Snow melt ***

2/4/2005

1.00

2/3/2005

2.00

3/
20
05

Precipitation (in)

2.50

2/

20
05

1.50

2/
1/

4.06 in

2/2/2005

1.50
Precipitation (in)

2/28/2005

2/27/2005

2/26/2005

2/25/2005

2/24/2005

2/23/2005

2/22/2005

2/21/2005

2/20/2005

2/19/2005

12.17 in

2/1/2005

2/28/2005

2/27/2005

2/26/2005

2/25/2005

2/24/2005

2/23/2005

2/22/2005

2/21/2005

2/20/2005

2/18/2005

2/17/2005

2/16/2005

2/15/2005

2/14/2005

2/13/2005

2/12/2005

0.50

2/19/2005

2/18/2005

2/17/2005

2/16/2005

2/15/2005

2/14/2005

2/13/2005

2/11/2005

2/10/2005

2/9/2005

2/8/2005

2/7/2005

2/6/2005

2/5/2005

2/4/2005

2/3/2005

2/2/2005

2/1/2005

Precipitation (in)

3.00

2/12/2005

2/11/2005

2/10/2005

2/9/2005

2/8/2005

2/7/2005

2/6/2005

2/5/2005

2/4/2005

2/3/2005

2/2/2005

2/1/2005

Precipitation (in)

Mt. Union Rain Gage, Bradshaw Mountains
Fraesfield Mountain, North Scottsdale

3.00

5.08 in

2.00

Daily Precipitation, Total is 5.08 inches

1.50

1.00

*** Snow melt ***

0.50

0.00

Date

Queen Creek Road Rain Gage, Southeast Valley

3.00

2.50

3.50 in

2.00
Daily Precipitation, Total is 3.50 inches

1.50

Date

Figure 7 above shows daily total rainfall for February 2005 at four rain stations around the County. The bottom axis is
days of the month from 1-28, and the left axis is daily rainfall from 0.00 to 3.00 inches.
Storm Report : February 2005, Page 8 of 19

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figures 8 & 9 above, and 10 & 11 below, show daily rainfall values for February 2005
in comparison to three other recent wet Februaries. Note that in all four cases,
February 2005 was the wettest, and that in most years the majority of precipitation
fell in the 2nd and 3rd weeks of the month.

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 9 of 19

Figure 10

Figure 11

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 10 of 19

How did the precipitation events of February 2005 measure up in terms of return
frequency? Take a look at Figures 12 – 15 below – graphs of recorded point rainfall
plotted against frequency data at the same point from NOAA Atlas 14. Looking again
at our four representative gages, Mt. Union, in the Bradshaw Mountains north of
Phoenix, approximates a 25-year event for durations past 1 day. The other three
gages, all within Maricopa County, are plot around the 2 and 5-year events for the
same durations.

Figure 12

Figure 13

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 11 of 19

Figure 14

Figure 15

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 12 of 19

RUNOFF
Water-year 2005 began at the conclusion of six years of below normal rainfall in
Arizona. October and November 2004, and January 2005, turned that around in a big
way! At the start of Water-year 2005, Roosevelt Lake was at 28% of operating
capacity, and the Verde River lakes (Horseshoe and Bartlett) were at 49%. By
February 1st, Roosevelt had risen to 48% and the Verde system was at 88%. Through
February, Roosevelt gained an additional 34% to 83%, and the Verde system gained
12% to become more than full, and releases from Bartlett became necessary. By April
1st, Roosevelt gained an additional 9% to 92% - it is expected to be full to it’s
operating pool by the end of the 2005 snowmelt season.
February 11-12, 2005
The most significant storm of the winter season dropped large amounts of
precipitation on already wet watersheds. The Hassayampa River peaked during the
late morning of February 12 of about 16,000 - 17,000 cfs, which translates to about a
10-year return period. Cave Creek had high flows of nearly 2,000 cfs at the two gages
above Cave Buttes Dam. Martinez Creek had a peak runoff of 1,470 cfs. Queen Creek
at CAP and Queen Creek at Rittenhouse had runoff from a significant impoundment at
Whitlow Ranch Dam. Queen Creek at Rittenhouse had its first runoff event in many
years. Also, because of the impoundment at New River Dam, New River at Bell Road
showed decent runoff (1,500 cfs) for the first time in several years.
As for impoundments at dams, Whitlow Ranch Dam peaked at about 50 feet which is
about 13% full. Rittenhouse FRS had a peak of 12.5 feet which is about 23% full. Cave
Buttes Dam had a peak impound of about 31 feet or about 3% full. New River Dam had
a peak impoundment of 20.7 feet or which is nearly 5% full.
February 19-23, 2005
This last of the series of moderate rain/runoff events produced average runoff from
many of the urban watersheds such as Indian Bend Wash and the ACDC. Cave Creek
had runoff in the 250 to 650 cfs range. The Salt River Project continued releases over
Granite Reef Dam. Peaks were in excess of 10,000 cfs.

TABLE 2 - SUMMARY OF SELECTED IMPOUNDMENTS AT FCD STATIONS
STATION NAME
Adobe Dam
Apache Junction FRS
Casandro Dam
Cave Buttes Dam (1)
Crossroads Park Basin
Dreamy Draw Dam
East Fork Cave Cr. #1
East Fork Cave Cr. #3
East Fork Cave Cr. #4

ID
5534
6673
7133
4899
6623
4803
4648
4683
4658

PEAK
Gage Ht.
(feet)
4.23
2.65
2.09
31.0
2.28
6.72
0.86
0.25
3.00

PEAK
OUTFLOW
(cfs)
192
19
11
266
Pumped
100
8
8
52

PEAK
STORAGE
(acre-feet)
44
2.0
5.8
1,480
17
0.0
1.0
0.0
4.0

PEAK
CAPACITY
(% full)
< 1%
< 1%
4%
3%
4%
< 1%
2%
< 1%
5%

DATE TIME
2/13 00:03
2/19 05:14
2/11 20:40
2/14 14:13
2/24 05:53
2/18 00:11
2/12 17:42
2/12 00:39
2/12 17:58

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 13 of 19

PEAK
PEAK
OUTFLOW
Gage Ht.
(cfs)
(feet)
Freestone Basin
6608
7.38
Pumped
G&F Woolsey Peak
5063
4.45
Water Tank
Golden Eagle Park Dam
5978
4.95
354
New River Dam
5609
20.71
1,578
Phoenix Basin #3
4828
3.60
29
Phoenix Basin #7
4853
1.20
7
Powerline FRS
6683
3.22
42
Reata Pass Dam
4938
3.22
11
Rittenhouse FRS
6703
12.58
120
Signal Butte FRS
6628
5.70
0
Spookhill FRS
4563
4.61
34
Stoneridge Dam
5968
1.65
11
Sunnycove FRS
5248
9.39
32
Sunset FRS
5233
6.88
22
Vineyard FRS
6688
3.58
67
Whitlow Ranch Dam
6739
36.01
576
(1) Gage was down prior to 2/16 due to a leak in the orifice line.
water mark.
STATION NAME

ID

PEAK
PEAK
DATE CAPACITY
STORAGE
TIME
(% full)
(acre-feet)
27.3
13%
2/20 06:14
----2/12 06:01
2
2%
2/11 23:05
2,245
5%
2/12 17:49
0.70
1%
2/18 00:42
0.30
< 1%
2/19 01:04
240
5%
2/19 08:26
Unknown
Unknown
2/19 03:56
919
23%
2/12 18:18
41
2%
2/12 20:48
20.5
1%
2/12 13:08
0.10
< 1%
2/11 22:39
7.8
4%
2/12 08:13
10.3
12%
2/12 06:52
335
10%
2/12 21:10
1,789
5%
2/16 10:08
Peak stage is from an observed high-

TABLE 3 - SUMMARY OF SELECTED STREAMFLOW READINGS AT FCD STATIONS
STATION

ID

4th of July Wash
ACDC @ 14th St.
ACDC @ 43rd Ave.
ACDC @ 67th Ave.
Adobe Dam Outlet
Agua Fria @ Buckeye Rd.
Antelope Creek
Berneil Wash
Box Wash
Bullard Wash
Casandro Wash
Cave Buttes Dam Outlet
Cave Cr. near Cave Cr.
Cave Cr. @ Spur Cross
Cave Cr. @ Cactus Basin
Centennial @ Wenden
Centennial near Aguila
Centennial Railroad
Cline Creek
Colter @ El Mirage
Copper Wash
Cruff Wash
Delaney Wash
Dysart @ El Mirage
Dysart Drain @ LAFB
E.Fork Cave Cr. near 7th Ave.
EMF @ Arizona Ave.
EMF @ Broadway Rd.

5043
4813
4823
5523
5538
5403
7168
4688
5273
6863
7093
4903
4918
4923
4833
5093
5178
5103
5583
5408
5033
5078
5108
5422
5413
4668
6598
6573

PEAK
STAGE
(feet)
0.12
0.60
1.12
4.10
2.35
1.51
2.57
1.02
1.65
0.41
0.35
5.38
4.68
9.40
10.38
0.45
0.32
3.26
0.59
0.47
0.69
1.17
2.90
2.26
0.60
1.80
1.43
1.62

PEAK
RUNOFF
(cfs)
19
25
202
698
143
140
533
192
159
48
14
415
2,785
2,963
414
71
11
258
12
25
16
53
364
167
22
137
616
504

DATE TIME
2/19 23:04
2/19 01:47
2/24 04:03
2/19 06:57
2/12 23:39
2/14 04:02
2/12 08:24
2/19 02:07
2/12 06:28
2/24 01:25
2/11 21:13
2/14 14:13
2/12 04:21
2/12 02:56
2/19 04:26
2/13 05:51
2/12 05:59
2/11 16:39
2/12 01:26
2/19 13:18
2/19 23:00
2/20 00:31
2/20 00:39
2/24 02:46
2/24 03:37
2/12 19:33
2/19 13:29
2/19 04:10

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 14 of 19

STATION

ID

EMF @ Queen Creek Rd.
Flying E Wash
Gila @ Estrella Pkwy.
Gila @ Olberg
Gila @ 116th Ave.
Guadalupe Channel
Hassy R. near Morristown
Hassy R. @ Box Canyon
Hassy R. @ I-10
Hassy R. @ Wagoner Rd.
IBW @ Indian Bend Rd.
IBW @ Indian School Rd.
IBW Interceptor
IBW @ McDonald Dr.
IBW @ McKellips Rd.
IBW @ Shea Blvd.
IBW @ Sweetwater Ave.
Jackrabbit Wash
Martinez Creek
McDowell Mountain Rd.
McMicken Floodway
New River @ Bell Rd.
New River @ Glendale Ave.
New River Dam Outlet
Old Crosscut @ McDowell Rd.
Price Drain @ Loop 202
Queen Creek @ CAP
Queen Cr.@ Rittenhouse Rd.
Rainbow Wash
Reata Pass Wash
Salt River @ Priest Dr.
Scatter Wash
Seven Springs Wash
Skunk Cr. near New River
Skunk Cr. @ I-17
Tiger Wash
Waterman Wash @ RVR
Winters Wash

6583
7083
6853
0783
6848
6603
5223
5308
5283
5352
4613
4618
4623
4628
4603
4693
4643
5218
7013
5923
5438
5598
5508
5613
4748
4573
6723
6707
6953
4588
4523
5543
4963
5588
5568
5163
6833
5118

PEAK
RUNOFF
(cfs)
1,554
16
38,900
1,902
49,394
191
14,962
15,791
5,775
497
772
422
37
596
591
370
216
1,134
1,020
24
12
1,430
873
1,452
172
311
1,034
475
178
63
28,034
472
137
102
504
1,822
169
29

PEAK
STAGE
(feet)
2.95
0.85
14.00
2.71
9.15
1.10
14.05
15.50
4.17
5.62
3.15
2.90
0.60
0.95
2.15
1.58
1.65
3.45
4.12
0.30
0.43
2.05
1.48
9.11
1.08
5.01
10.15
3.50
1.12
0.53
8.50
1.62
2.55
1.14
2.27
7.40
2.67
0.69

DATE TIME
2/19 08:30
2/12 06:17
2/13 05:18
2/14 04:39
2/13 02:17
2/19 03:59
2/12 09:49
2/12 09:28
2/12 19:02
2/12 04:08
2/19 07:31
2/19 07:52
2/19 07:17
2/19 08:02
2/19 10:19
2/19 03:24
2/12 18:41
2/11 19:21
2/12 07:27
2/11 23:23
2/09 08:48
2/12 18:01
2/12 13:13
2/12 20:52
2/19 01:30
2/11 21:58
2/12 12:01
2/13 02:18
2/23 23:33
2/19 01:24
2/13 18:02
2/12 17:52
2/11 18:23
2/18 00:57
2/12 18:27
2/12 05:01
2/24 04:45
2/20 01:04

Acronyms and Abbreviations used in Tables 1 & 2 above:
ACDC
CAP
EMF
FRS
G&F
Gila
Hassy
IBW
LAFB
RVR

Arizona Canal Diversion Channel
Central AZ Project Canal
East Maricopa Floodway
Flood Retarding Structure
AZ Game and Fish
Gila River
Hassayampa River
Indian Bend Wash
Luke Air Force Base
Rainbow Valley Road

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 15 of 19

SELECTED HYDROGRAPHS

Measured Flows on the Salt/Gila System
40,000

Figure 16
35,000

Salt River @ Priest Drive
Gila River @ Estrella Pkwy.

Discharge (cfs)

30,000

25,000

20,000
15,000

10,000

5,000

0
2/9/05

2/11/05

2/13/05

2/15/05

2/17/05

2/19/05

2/21/05

2/23/05

2/25/05

2/27/05

Date

Measured Flows along Indian Bend Wash
800

Figure 17
700

IBW @ Indian Bend Rd.
IBW @ McKellips Road

Discharge (cfs)

600
500
400
300
200
100
0
2/9/05

2/11/05

2/13/05

2/15/05

2/17/05

2/19/05

2/21/05

2/23/05

2/25/05

2/27/05

Date

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 16 of 19

Measured Flows along Cave Creek
3,000

Figure 18
2,500

Cave Creek @ Spur Cross
Cave Cr. near Cave Cr.
Discharge (cfs)

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0
2/9/05

2/11/05

2/13/05

2/15/05

2/17/05

2/19/05

2/21/05

2/23/05

2/25/05

2/27/05

Date

Stage Hydrograph at Rittenhouse FRS

14

Figure 19
Peak at 12.6 ft = 23% of Capacity

12

10
Gage Height (ft)

9.6 ft = 10% of Capacity
8

6

4

2

0
2/9/05

2/11/05

2/13/05

2/15/05

2/17/05

2/19/05

2/21/05

2/23/05

2/25/05

2/27/05

Date

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 17 of 19

Figure 20 at right shows how
the total US precipitation
measured in February 2005
compares to previous years.
Most of northern and eastern
Arizona, which includes the
Little Colorado, Gila, Salt,
Verde, Agua Fria and
Hassayampa watersheds ranks
higher than 90% of previous
years.

Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 21 at right
shows the rankings of
reservoir levels as of
3/01/05 compared to
their levels on the
same date in previous
years. Although it is
not clear which dot
represents which
reservoir in central
Arizona, it is clear that
the purple, dark blue
and blue dots
represent greater than
average storage levels.
This was of course not
the case at the
beginning of wateryear 2005.

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 18 of 19

FLOOD DAMAGE IN MARICOPA COUNTY
Flood control structures owned and operated by the Flood Control District did not
sustain any significant damage during the flooding of February 2005. No ALERT
monitoring stations sustained damage due to flooding, although one station was found
to have a vandalized solar panel early in the month. It was replaced before the
battery went dead.
The following is an excerpt from a 2/28/05 memo from Dennis Cvancara of Maricopa
County Emergency Management to Steve Sipple of the National Weather Service:
This year’s winter storm flood damage to Maricopa County was
generally confined to the Wickenburg area; however, other damage was
sustained in other parts of the County. The approach to the Alma
School Bridge over the Salt River received substantial damage, forcing
road restrictions for several weeks and incurring expensive repair bills.
Seven deaths were reported in Arizona due to flooding.
Three
individuals from Maricopa County died as a result of flooding in
Sycamore Creek in Gila County, but no deaths were reported in
Maricopa County…
… The next major storm to strike Maricopa County occurred on
Thursday, February 10th, when a powerful storm moved in again from
the west. The National Weather Service, in anticipation of heavy runoff
as warm rains melt(ed) snow in the high country, issued flash-flood
watches and urban and small-stream flood warnings. The town of
Wickenburg received 1.89 inches of rain swelling the Hassayampa River.
The river washed away two mobile homes and two vehicles.
Additionally, the Jack Burden Road was washed out and three utility
poles were lost, resulting in power outages. Arizona Public Service
reported 25 individuals were left without power which was restored the
following Monday. Telephone, water and gas service was also restored
that day. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office was credited with
rescuing 21 individuals in 11 incidents during the weekend ending
February 13th as helicopter crews plucked individuals from vehicles
stranded in various washes…
… In summary, the winter storms of late 2004 and early 2005 provided
much needed moisture to the Valley and left the water reservoirs full
or nearly full, including Roosevelt Lake. Unfortunately, Maricopa
County suffered an estimated $6.5 million in damage during this time
period.

Storm Report : February 2005, Page 19 of 19