60 mph gusts hit Phoenix, thousands of citizens are living in the dark

60 mph gusts hit Phoenix, thousands of citizens are living in the dark The weekend's storms reached 60 mph, with winds blowing and dust rising, reducing visibility in some areas...

The weekend's storms reached 60 mph, blowing winds and dust, reducing visibility to 1/4 mile in some areas. The National Weather Service issued dust storm and heavy rain warnings covering Pinal and Maricopa counties, near Highway 10 and the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

Severe thunderstorm warnings include: Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, El Mirage, Yougtown, Sun City, Waddell, Sun City West, Downtown Peoria, Surprise Stadium, Arrowhead Mall and Downtown Glendale.

In addition to 60 mph winds, there is hail less than an inch in some areas.

Police in the Surpirse area said winds had blown several trees across the city, blocking roads in those areas.

Severe weather sweeping across the Valley Saturday night caused dozens of power outages, leaving thousands of customers in the dark. But around 9:30 p.m., some of the power outages were restored. About 800 customers in the Surprise area continue to be without power. In central Phoenix, more than 1,700 customers were without power after 6 p.m. Most are in the west of the city. The Arizona Department of Public Service said the largest outage in the city was in Sun City, where nearly 2,400 customers lost power just before 5:30 Saturday. APS said the outage was caused by disruptions to major power lines in the area, shutting down power from Camelot Circle to Sun City Boulevard and 111th Avenue to 103rd Avenue. As of 9:30pm Saturday, most power had been restored, with only 310 people still without power.

Sandstorms and heavy rain continued on Sunday. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning. There will be sudden flooding at 1:30 a.m. on Monday (another sudden flood near Payson on Saturday has killed 9 people), and a sandstorm hit again at 2 a.m. on Monday. All moving vehicles should pull over to ensure safety.

The big tree was broken by the wind