Storm floods Sedona and Pagosa Springs, then heads east for Election Day
A slow-moving storm flooded homes along Oak Creek in Sedona, Arizona, and forced evacuations around Pagosa Springs, Colorado, over the weekend. Forecasters say the same system brings severe storms to the southern Plains on Monday, rain to the Mid-South on Election Day and wind and rain farther east later in the week.
AI-assisted · US Brief desk · Sources listed below
What happened
Heavy rain from a slow-moving storm flooded parts of the Southwest over the weekend. In Sedona, Arizona, at least 19 homes along Oak Creek were evacuated Sunday, and some had 3 to 4 inches of water inside, Yavapai County spokesman David McAtee told AZFamily. The evacuations were mostly on the city's east side, in Zones 8, 9 and 10. Crews carried out what firefighters called an "excessive amount" of water rescues, and state public safety officers made rooftop rescues, public radio station KNAU reported. The Tlaquepaque shopping village closed and canceled its Day of the Dead celebration.
Why it matters
The same storm that flooded tourist towns in Arizona and Colorado will be crossing the South on Election Day. Voters in the Memphis area and parts of the Deep South should expect heavy rain Tuesday, and Plains residents face a severe-weather risk Monday.
More context
Colorado: Archuleta County and the town of South Fork ordered mandatory evacuations Sunday, and officials urged people in low-lying areas around Pagosa Springs to leave right away, Denver7 reported. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning with a rare "Particularly Dangerous Situation" label through Monday evening. Forecasters said the San Juan River at Pagosa Springs could crest near 19.71 feet late Sunday, almost 2 feet above the 1911 flood, when the river reached about 17.8 feet and wiped out most of the town. Officials warned that helicopters would be grounded during the worst of the storm.
How big the storm is: Fox Weather said the system will affect more than 35 states this week. The Weather Prediction Center put more than 65,000 square miles of Arizona, home to more than 4 million people, under a Level 3 of 4 risk of flash flooding, with 3 to 5 inches of rain and isolated totals near 6 inches. The high passes of southwest Colorado could get 12 to 18 inches of snow.
Timeline of the week ahead (Fox Weather forecasts): Monday, a Level 2 of 5 risk of severe storms for Kansas, Oklahoma and north Texas, with hail, damaging wind and a few tornadoes possible. Tuesday, Election Day, the front reaches Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama, with a Level 2 of 4 flash-flood risk for north Mississippi and southwest Tennessee, including Memphis, where 1 to 2 inches of rain is possible. Wednesday, wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph in the Upper Midwest. Thursday and Friday, rain along the I-95 corridor, with 1 to 2 inches possible in the Northeast.
What's still unknown: How high the San Juan River actually crested at Pagosa Springs overnight, and how many homes there and in Sedona were damaged. Reports available Monday morning did not give final crest levels or damage totals, and no deaths had been reported in the sources cited here.
6 listed sources
- Fox Weather, Nov. 2, 2026
- The Weather Channel, Nov. 2, 2026
- AZFamily, Nov. 1, 2026
- KNAU, Nov. 1, 2026
- Denver7, Nov. 1, 2026
- AP, Nov. 1, 2026
References listed by US Brief; a source count is not a verification score.
Editorial sourcing notes
Storm figures are forecasts and early local reports as of Monday morning and may change. The hero photo is a 2021 file photo of Oak Creek in calm conditions, and the body photo is from the 1911 flood. Neither shows this weekend's flooding.
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