Yuma's overdue rain showed up overnight. Here's what to watch Sunday.

If you woke up to the sound of rain early Sunday and thought it had been a while, you're not imagining it.

Through Friday, Yuma's official weather station at the airport had recorded 0.60 inches of rain for all of 2026, according to the National Weather Service's daily climate report. By this point in a normal year, Yuma would have seen about 2.6 inches. And 0.22 of that 0.60 fell on a single day, Oct. 10, when the leftovers of Tropical Storm Rachel came through. Before October, the gauge had collected 0.38 inches all year.

So the desert had some catching up to do when the Halloween storm finally drifted this way.

The station had picked up 0.24 inches by 6 a.m. Sunday, and 0.15 of that came in the single hour before 6, according to its hourly readings. Saturday, Halloween itself, ended with nothing more than traces. The weather service's forecast for the Yuma area calls for more showers, mostly before 11 a.m., with another quarter to half inch possible.

That already moves Yuma's total for the year from 0.60 inches to 0.84. If the rest of the forecast pans out, Sunday alone could double the year. That says less about this storm than it does about the year.

72 customers lost power

The storm also did some damage. APS's outage map showed 72 customers without power in the Yuma area as of 6:25 a.m., in an area APS described as running from Laguna Dam Road to U.S. 95 and from Avenue E to Fortuna Road. The outage began at 5:51 a.m., right in the middle of that wettest hour. APS listed the cause as storm and weather and said severe weather had damaged equipment. Its estimated restoration time was 8:45 a.m.

That's a small outage by Yuma standards, unless you're one of the 72. If your power is out, APS takes reports at (855) 688-2437.

Why this isn't Phoenix's weekend

The same broad storm pattern has been a lot rougher to the east.

Firefighters rescued six people from vehicles trapped in floodwater across Phoenix, Scottsdale and Apache Junction from Friday evening into Saturday morning, after some areas got more than an inch of rain in under an hour, AZFamily reported. No injuries were reported. One of those rescues came after a driver went around a barricade. Officials told the station every rescue was preventable, and a Phoenix Fire spokesman put the problem plainly: "Water can look like it's not moving very fast."

Flood watches covered much of central and eastern Arizona through the weekend, where an atmospheric river was pushing moisture over ground that was already wet. Yuma wasn't under one as of early Sunday. KYMA's forecast said widespread heavy rain wasn't expected in the immediate Yuma area.

That's good news. It isn't the same thing as nothing to watch.

What's worth paying attention to today

Ponding and washes. KYMA's meteorologists flagged water pooling on roads and rising water in local washes, even without big totals. The station's Saturday forecast also left room for isolated strong storms Sunday afternoon and evening, mostly east of the Colorado River, with damaging wind the main concern. The weather service's early Sunday forecast for Yuma was drier than that for the afternoon, so check the radar before you write the day off either way.

Water you can't see the bottom of. Twelve inches of water can float a small car, according to the National Weather Service. If a dip or a wash crossing has water over it, the honest answer is that you don't know how deep it is. Go around.

Your wake. This one gets forgotten. Last November, people in one of Yuma's flood-prone neighborhoods told KYMA that drivers speeding through flooded streets were pushing waves toward their front doors. Adrienne Syddon said those waves had pushed water up to her home. Her family had already spent months in a hotel after an earlier flood. Slowing to a crawl on a wet street costs you about thirty seconds.

La Quinta, again. If you live around the La Quinta retention basin by 29th Lane Linear Park, you know the routine. The City's permanent pumping fix, a $406,615 contract approved in October, isn't scheduled to start construction until Dec. 2, as we reported. So this is one more storm before the fix.

Tonight's wind. Once the rain clears, the forecast turns breezy Sunday night, with west winds gusting to 30 mph. That's nowhere near the 53-mph gust Rachel brought last month, but it's enough to move a patio umbrella or a loose trash can.

After that, the forecast is sunny Monday and Tuesday, with highs in the upper 70s. If you're voting in person on Election Day, the weather should be the least of your worries.

If something goes wrong

• Life-threatening emergency, or a downed power line: call 911. APS says to stay at least 100 feet from any fallen line and treat it as live.
• Flooding or a street problem in the City of Yuma: Public Works at (928) 373-4500. After hours, the City's utility and street emergency line is (928) 783-7601.
• Power outage (APS customers): (855) 688-2437, or the APS outage center.
• Road conditions: AZ511.

For what a few inches of water can do to a car, what Arizona's so-called "stupid motorist law" actually says, and where Yuma tends to flood, we put together a separate guide.

The desert will take every drop it can get this morning. Just let it have the low spots in the road, too.

Sources

• National Weather Service Phoenix, Yuma daily climate reports (CLINYL), Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2026, via Iowa Environmental Mesonet: 0.60 in. since Jan. 1, normal 2.62 in., October to date 0.22 in.
• Iowa Environmental Mesonet, hourly precipitation, Yuma (NYL), Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, 2026: 0.02 in. hour ending 3:57 a.m., 0.07 in. hour ending 4:57 a.m., 0.15 in. hour ending 5:57 a.m. Nov. 1 (0.24 in. total); traces only Oct. 31
• APS, official outage map, Yuma incident details viewed about 6:28 a.m. Nov. 1 (list updated 6:25 a.m.): 72 customers, boundary "Laguna Dam Rd. to US 95 and S Avenue E to Fortuna Rd.", began 5:51 a.m., cause Storm/Weather, APS comment that severe weather damaged equipment, estimated restoration 8:45 a.m.
• National Weather Service, point forecast for the Yuma area, observation and forecast checked 4:57 a.m. Nov. 1: showers mostly before 11 a.m., 0.25 to 0.5 in. possible, gusts to 30 mph Sunday night, sunny Monday and Tuesday, no active Yuma hazards listed
• Yuma Informed, Storms Knock Out Water in Wellton, Collapse Walls in the Foothills, Oct. 12, 2026: Oct. 10 rainfall 0.22 in. and 53-mph gust at the climate station; APS downed-line guidance; City after-hours line; APS outage line
• KYMA, FIRST ALERT ACTION DAY: Tracking spooky conditions and Halloween shower chances, Oct. 31, 2026
• AZFamily, Drivers rescued, roads closed as flash flooding hits Phoenix area, Oct. 31, 2026
• AZFamily, Dozens rescued from rising floodwaters in Phoenix area as heavy rain continues, Nov. 1, 2026: "every rescue was preventable"; Phoenix Fire quote
• National Weather Service Grand Forks, Turn Around Don't Drown: 12 inches of water can float a small car
• KYMA, Flooded streets have Yuma residents asking drivers to be considerate, Nov. 21, 2025
• Yuma Informed, After Years of Drainage Complaints, Yuma Approves $406,615 Pumping Project for La Quinta Basin, Oct. 13, 2026
• City of Yuma, Storm Support Information: Public Works (928) 373-4500