Bottomland flooding east of Phoenix due to heavy snowmelt

PHOENIX (AP) — Flooding is occurring in riverbeds and bottomlands along the Salt River east of downtown Phoenix due to dam releases following recent heavy snowmelt.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning Saturday along the river from Granite Reef to Tempe Town Lake between Scottsdale and Mesa.

The service says it’s also monitoring the river downstream from Tempe Town Lake through the West Valley as snowmelt is expected to accelerate with highs in the low to mid-80s Fahrenheit (29 Celsius) into early next week.

In northern Arizona, enhanced runoff also is expected through the weekend with scattered showers and warming temperatures into the upper 40s (7 C) and lower 50s (11 C) in Flagstaff.

Flood warnings also are in effect in parts of southern Nevada, including along the Meadow Valley Wash in Lincoln County near the Utah line southwest of Spring Valley State Park and northeast of Pioche.

In New Mexico, rain and mountain snow is expected to continue to expand across the northern and central parts of the state. Several inches of snow is possible on peaks above 9,000 feet (2,743 meters), the service said.

Critical fire weather conditions are likely across parts of eastern New Mexico and the Rio Grande Valley due to low humidity, gusty winds and above normal temperatures.