Sunday, August 30, 2026

One of the reasons people die in places like the Deserts of the Southwestern United States is Flash flooding

I myself have almost died in a flash flooding event around 1968 or 1969 in my then brand new Camaro. I was driving and minding my own business touring from Yucca Valley up past Pioneertown (Cowboy movies sets) up towards Big Bear but still down by where all the Mesas are near Old Woman springs road when I saw coming at me a wall of water down from the Big Bear Mountains. So, I burned rubber turning my car around before this wall of water carried my car and me across the desert there. Luckily there was pavement going in the opposite direction from this flash flood so I could survive this along with my car.

Another flash flood I was much younger likely 12 to 15 driving in my father's work truck as he was an electrical Contractor and a car passed us going about 90 miles an hour and was on what we used to call Whoopie Roads in the desert that go up and down sort of like a roller coaster. Well. at the base of each of these hills we were driving over was water at least 2 or more feet deep and the driver of that car was enjoying trying to see how big of waves and splashes he could make which was dangerous to do. Well, we came upon him with the fenders and hood up against his front window because he had hit a patch of water about 3 or 4 feet deep and it had bent his fenders and hood up to his front window in his car. We asked him if we could help but he didn't want our help because he was in shock and in those days privacy was a big deal so you didn't interfere with people then unless you were police or firemen or ambulance crew then. So, we moved on like he requested but we could see he wasn't really right. We did this because you didn't want to get shot then by people who were different than now in the way they often behaved. There was much more paranoia then than now here in the U.S. because it was more recent that world war II and the Korean war had happened. So, this is the time of President Kennedy likely and the Cuban Missile Crisis where people were freaking out about dying from nuclear weapons then. So, this would have been 1960 to 1963 when this happened. 

More regarding Flash Flooding: begin quote:

 Overview
Monsoon season in Arizona officially runs from June 15 through September 30.
Season Timeline
  • Start Date: June 15
  • Peak Period: Mid-July through August, when storms are most frequent and intense.
  • End Date: September 30
Key Characteristics
  • Weather Shift: Winds change from dry, westerly flows to moist, southerly flows coming up from Mexico.
  • Storm Types: Fast-moving thunderstorms, heavy rain, lightning, high winds, and massive dust storms (haboobs)
    .
  • Rainfall: More than half of the state's annual precipitation arrives during these summer months.
If you want, I can share:
  • Driving safety tips for dust storms and flash floods
  • How to prepare your home for severe weather
Let me know what you would like to know next!
  • Arizona State Parks
    Monsoon Season in Arizona
    Monsoon season in Arizona begins on June 15 and lasts through September 30. The monsoon season is characterized by: * **Wind shift...
  • Arizona Department of Transportation (.gov)
    Monsoons | Department of Transportation - ADOT
    Arizona's monsoon season begins in June and continues through September. With it comes higher humidity, which can lead to thunders...
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