Strong thunderstorms with heavy rainfall skipped the Tucson metropolitan area late Wednesday afternoon.
However, rain fell in the Picture Rocks to Three Points area west of Tucson, said Aaron Hardin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. It was not known yet how much rain the area received because the service has no weather gauges in the affected areas.
A blowing dust advisory is in effect until 7 p.m. along Interstate 10 between northern Pima and Pinal counties. Thunderstorm winds with gusts up to 50 mph are expected. Visibility could be reduced to near zero at times, according to the weather service.
Shortly after 10 p.m., Tucson Electric Power Co. crews had restored electricity to 1,270 customers throughout the city. Crews continued working to restore power to eight customers. Outages were caused by downed electrical poles and power lines, authorities said. At one point, there were more than 2,000 customers without power.Β
The community of Oracle received 2.33 inches of rain, and Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains received up to 0.75 of an inch.
The Arivaca area, which is south of Green Valley, received 1.14 inches of rain.
Thursday will bring significantly less thunderstorm activity in the Tucson area. Storms are expected south and east of Tucson, said Hardin.
The high in Tucson Wednesday was 97 degrees and the low was 77 degrees at Tucson International Airport. Thursday's high is predicted at 98 degrees and the low at 73 degrees.
High: 95
Low: 74
