Arizona Faces Rare Tornado Watch and Flash Flood Threat as Supercell Storms Strike A powerful storm system brouGht tornado warnings, hail, and flash flooding across northern and central Arizona, prompting a rare tornado watch and widespread advisories. Storm Surge Across ArizonaThe National Weather Service reported a uncommon and powerful severe weather outbreak sweeping through Arizona on Wednesday. A large low pressure system brought supercell thunderstorms,a tornado watch and multiple tornado warnings to northern, central and southeastern parts of the state. Officials issued severe thunderstorm warnings,hail alerts and comprehensive flash flood watches that extended into neighboring states such as Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and southern California. Widespread Tornado Warnings and a Rare WatchOver a dozen tornado warnings were dispatched to communities in Coconino, Yavapai, and surrounding counties. Flagstaff,Prescott, Jerome, and the surrounding rural areas experienced several warnings, some lasting only thirty minutes, while others covered larger swaths of the high nation. The National Weather Service noted that Arizona had not issued a tornado watch since 2010, making this the first such alert in more than fifteen years. The watch,which covered much of northern Arizona untill 6 p.m. MST, reflected the elevated threat of spinning vortices accompanying the supercell activity.Hit by Hail and Heavy RainSupercell storms over Flagstaff and surrounding locales produced hail the size of eggs and fall‑through rain that reached several inches in depth. The intense precipitation sparked flash flood warnings that were in effect for much of the state through Thursday evening. The same system delivered up to 3-5 inches of rain to parts of southeastern Colorado and wet conditions to southwestern Utah, sparking concerns for flooding in burn scars and Marshland edge areas.Public Response and Safety MeasuresSchool districts, including all seven Hopi tribAlly controlled schools, closed their doors on Thursday in response to the severe weather. Residents were urged to seek low‑lying areas,stay away from windows and prepare for possible evacuation if conditions worsened. Storm chasers such as Mike Olbinski, Reed Timmer and Jim Tang tracked the activity from Flagstaff to Prescott,capturing images of supercell cores and funnel clouds from high elevations. While no tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down, eyewitness accounts of dark funnel formations over Dewey‑Humboldt and distant lightning gave the public a vivid picture of the storm's intensity.