All week we’ve had clouds and thunderstorms in the afternoon with sporadic downpours and major wind gusts.
Monsoon season usually starts in July. Living near Meadview since 2000 I never saw monsoon storms in May and rarely in June.
From 2020 to July 2022 we had NO measurable rain. The desert was dying. Then the monsoon storms brought flash flood after flash flood starting in July last year. While the rain was badly needed, I lost my road, and cars without 4WD might still get stuck in the sand. Mohave County maintains only very few roads and mine is not one of them.
The County often takes weeks to fix the maintained dirt roads, but Pierce Ferry Rd. and Stockton Hill Rd. (to Kingman) are usually cleared within hours.
It may not be pretty, with lots of sand still on the road, but at least driveable.
I’ve often met neighbors while waiting for the water to go down and for the County to clear the rocks and debris off Stockton Hill Rd or Pierce Ferry Rd. on my way back from Kingman. Sometimes it’s a bit like a tailgate party since most have been shopping and there’s plenty of food and drink.
Some people opt to go back to Kingman and take Hwy 93 to Dolan Springs and then come up on Pierce Ferry Rd. — only to have to wait for hours on Pierce Ferry for the water to go down. There is no way of knowing what the road conditions will be during a major storm because it depends on where and how much it rains in the mountains.
Don’t drive through flooded dips when you can’t see how deep the water is unless you can follow a smaller vehicle that successfully made it.
One time I was on my way back from Kingman as it was getting dark when water was running across Stockton Hill Rd and it didn’t look too deep. However, the paved road had washed out! I roared right through it. I was lucky and eventually made it home in my old truck, despite a broken wire from my battery because it wasn’t properly tied down and went airborne. I was stranded at the stop sign by Pierce Ferry until l figured out how to use the wire from a spiral-bound notebook to reattach the wire to the battery. Fortunately, I had a flashlight.
In 2013 a tour bus got swept off Pierce Ferry Rd. into the desert and then fell over:
2013 flash flood swept tour but into desert
Fortunately, nobody got hurt and all passengers climbed out. The bus driver got a ticket as he should have known better. We also have the “Stupid Motorist” law for the many drivers who choose to go around blocked roads and could be charged for rescue: https://www.azfamily.com/2023/03/22/arizona-flood-rescues-stupid-motorist-law/
We might have the most beautiful clear blue skies at noon and major thunderstorms a few hours later. While monsoon storms typically form in the afternoon, last year we had storms at all times of the day and night. One after the other …
Be aware that flash floods are often caused by rains MILES away.
A 2022 Fish & Game video on Facebook of a flash flood after wildfire:
2022 Fish & Game video of flash flood
Many hikers have died in canyons with no way to get to higher ground fast.
I used to love watching monsoon storms and taking pictures of washed-out roads and blown-away structures afterward, but I had so much damage to my outbuildings, garden, and greenhouse from major wind gusts and flash floods in recent years that it takes the fun out of it! And then the permanent loss of my road …
7/24/2022: Video of the first of several flash floods destroying my road after the neighbor blocked the wash with a solid concrete driveway.
We’ve even had tornados near Kingman and Las Vegas.
Enjoy your adventure — just be prepared and careful!
Always take plenty of drinking water and keep a flashlight in your vehicle.
In our high desert, temperatures often drop dramatically as soon as the sun goes down and we’ve also seen temperatures plummet to 50s after storms. Be prepared!
