Pixabay
Growing up, we heard the stories. Flash flooding and water that aggressively accumulated in the washes could drown you. It was a threat during the Spring storms and the Summer monsoons in the desert.
As a child, we were keenly aware of the floods that could entrap drivers and swimmers up north and in Scottsdale. Every year, despite warnings on the television and radio, people were swept away. Desert soil is clay and sand with a hard mineral layer beneath it. When it rained during monsoon, it flooded. The soil is baked by the Sun all year and rainwater becomes a serious threat. Irrigation channels and washes fill with water and some foolishly swim in these places. They often drown. Irrigation ditches have filters that ensnare swimmers and washes move so fast it's impossible to escape them.
I can still remember seeing the news of an RV that tried to drive through standing water and didn't make it. The water looked shallow, but it wasn't. You cannot judge the depth of storm water in the evening, because it's black as the stormy sky and still. Driving all the way around the small stream in the road meant backing up and adding half an hour to an already exhausting trip. It was a mistake. A little girl and her family drowned.
Don't take standing water or summer storms for granted. It's a risk you don't want to take and isn't worth it. Take the long way around everytime.