Severe storms bring hail and tornado warnings to Arizona

You're watching the Fox 10 Weather Experts with meteorologist Crystal Ortiz on Fox 10 News. Welcome back. If you're just joining us, it has been a busy morning out there. We've had severe thunderstorm warnings. We've had three tornado warnings. Fairly rare for us to see that. We are at a much higher than is normal or really what we will see in years probably level of severe storm risk. Now, I don't say this to alarm anyone. It's just so you're prepared. So you can make sure you're checking the app on your phone. And if you hear the tone, don't ignore it as it could be in your neighborhood. Here's a view on Fox Vision of the scattered storms that are lifting kind of just along the periphery of the valley and then up into the high country. So we'll start with our severe thunderstorm warning that is sitting over the areas between Congress and Prescott. So this includes areas like Yarnell, Willow under this severe thunderstorm warning for the next seven minutes unless it is extended. This thunderstorm still looks pretty nasty, so they may end up extending this warning. Again, this is the National Weather service office that creates these warnings that we then pass along to you guys. So when you see this bright pink to almost white color on a radar return, that indicates extremely heavy rain, also possibly hail that we are seeing in this. Sometimes when you see a little like what's called a spike out of a radar return, it's because of the way that hail interacts with the radar beam. So there's likely some pretty large hail, which is why the severe thunderstorm warning is in place for hail up to ping pong ball size, which clearly would cause damage if it were to hit your roof or vehicle. Now, for the most part, this has been running along the mountainsides just off of 89 in areas like Yarnell, but you can see some very heavy rain passing through. There's the latest hail tracker, and now this is an estimate. It's not an actual, like, ground-confirmed number, but it's showing that one- to two-inch diameter range as it's passing over some of the mountaintops, running directly parallel to 89. So if we continue with that general track, this would be near but not directly into, like, the heart of Prescott, But still, there may be homes in the vicinity of this storm if it holds its strength. So please, a heads up if you're in that area. I put that little tracker on this, kind of overarching the pockets of the heaviest rain and moving it all the way to the northeast on that path. And what you can see is that it would maybe make it to the Prescott Valley here as we get into that 730 or 740 range this morning. So really within the next like 15 minutes or so as I look down at the clock. And then extending all the way up towards Williams as we get into that, like, 820 or so this morning range. Here's the look in the valley. Not much in the valley. A sprinkle or two over the 17 approaching the far, like, southwest part of the valley. But some scattered showers and storms that are picking up over the mountains that are sitting along the east edge of the valley. Continues this track outside of Payson along 260. and then all the way up into northeastern Arizona where there is no longer a severe thunderstorm warning but still some scattered stronger storms. So rain chances for the valley we're in that like 60 percent rain chance through tonight and early tomorrow morning and then that'll drop as the afternoon progresses on Thursday here in the valley. A quick look at the futurecast does show us that scattered storms continue this morning valley northward but especially northward all morning long and starting to stretch a little eastern into the afternoon as additional scattered waves of storms may hit the valley throughout the afternoon and tonight too in fact this model really in the overnight and tomorrow morning gives us some of the biggest hits of heavier rain before everything will start to clear eastward so as a reminder what are the threats with these storms we're talking damaging winds but hail and flooding may be our top concerns today and there is that very low risk of tornadoes So here's your look at the 10-day forecast. We're in the 80s today, tomorrow, but we do get a beautiful weekend ahead.