MESA, Ariz. — People in Mesa are cleaning up after strong storms ripped roofs off houses and toppled trees Thursday afternoon.
The hardest-hit areas were near Higley and McDowell roads in Mesa. High winds there destroyed carports and snapped trees in half.
One woman’s rental home lost the entire roof, down to the insulation.
“It was really scary,” owner Diane Pearson said. “I actually started praying.”
The roof of Pearson’s house is laying in the street about 20 feet from the house. The roof is exposed all the way through to the inside of the house.
“Next thing I know, we get a phone call,” Pearson said, “your roof is laying in the street.”
The storms that rolled through the east Valley were powerful enough to uproot large trees and even carry them short distances.
At nearby Falcon Field, the winds were strong enough to flip a small single-engine plane over on its roof.
“This was like hurricane-force winds,” Pearson said. “This was really bad.”
Arizona Weather
Arizona has seen its fair share of severe weather. Here is a compilation of videos from various storms across the Grand Canyon state.