A late-afternoon thunderstorm brought more than an inch of rain to the airport while knocking out power to thousands of utility customers throughout Tucson.
About 975 customers are still without power as of 3 p.m. Wednesday, and at the height of Tuesday's storm 27,000 customers in the metro area lost power Tucson Electric Power said.
The storm toppled power lines and trees and had wind gusts reaching almost 80 mph in some places.
Other areas of Tucson also saw about an inch of rain, mainly on the far east and northeast sides.
The area stretching from the south side near the airport to Vail and Redington Pass received the heaviest rainfall, said John Glueck, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Those areas received between a half-inch and inch of rain, Glueck said.
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The rainfall total at the Tucson International Airport nearly matched a record for July 5, with the 1.02 inches measured Tuesday, finishing just shy of the 1.03 inches recorded on the same date in 1952, according to the weather service.
Marana and Avra Valley also received heavy rain, with totals measuring between three-quarters of an inch and an inch, he said.
Reports indicated the storm dropped about an inch of rain as it passed through the Benson area.
Two transformers were blown and a power pole was knocked down near South Campbell Avenue and East Drexel Road, shutting down the intersection for several hours, authorities said.
The storm did provide some relief: The temperature in Tucson went from 100 degrees at around 3 p.m. to 72 at 5 p.m., Glueck said.
A wind gust of 77 mph was recorded at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. A gust of 70 mph was recorded at Tucson International.
Tucsonans should brace for more of the same.
The forecast calls for high temperatures in the upper 90s and lower 100s with a 30 percent of thunderstorms through the end of the week.
On StarNet: Upload your storm photos or view the 10-day forecast at azstarnet.com/weather
Reporter Fernanda Echavarri contributed to this report. Contact reporter Jamar Younger at jyounger@azstarnet.com or 573-4115.
