Monsoon floods sweep Four Corners region, three drownings reported in New Mexico

A powerful monsoonal surge is battering the Four Corners region, bringing flood watches to most of Arizona, western New Mexico, southwestern Colorado and southern and central Utah. In the early hours of Wednesday, Navajo police in Shiprock, New Mexico, responded to a drowning incident that left two adults and a juvenile dead. The National Weather Service and AccuWeather forecast continued heavy rain, with some locales potentially receiving as much as a foot of precipitation, a rarity described as a 1-in-1,000-year event.

Rainfall rates could exceed two inches per hour, heightening flash-flood danger. Forecast models show an additional three inches of rain possible over the next few days, and thunderstorms are expected to linger. Residents are urged to stay alert, heed local warnings and avoid driving through flooded roads.