Are the washes awash?

I generally don't have much faith in weather forecasts, but for the past few days I've been following the Flood Watch. We've heard so much about the dry gulches (also called washes) that are essential in times of heavy rain. Greg says we should be grateful when it rains in Arizona as water becomes more scarce, but I'm not so sure Arizonans would agree with him today.

Our soggy back yard this morning

It's been relatively cool (high of 57F) and has rained for a few hours. I walked by a couple of gulches today and there wasn't any running water in them. The flood watch names creeks and washes that may be affected and the possibility of flooding in those areas. When we stayed at our previous house sit they showed us photos of their gulch after a heavy rain and it was hard for us to picture how quickly and dramatically conditions change and how dangerous it can become.

Here's a photo of a nearby dog park this morning, which is not usually a pond!

In Niagara Falls, Canada we have a complex underground drainage system for diverting excess rainwater. Here it seems to be managed above-ground. Out walking today was the first I noticed the system here. The water runs into the street gutters, and they're slanted towards that same park.

The park is at the end of this street (back of photo)

At the edge of the park it goes through large slots (between the paved road and the concrete sidewalk) and into the park.

Now go back to the photo of the dog park; the one that looks like a pond. Greg tells me that the white post seen in the right rear of the photo is where the water is reclaimed for irrigation of the golf course and street landscaping.

As I was writing this, around 5 pm, the sun came out for the first time, and so I took the photo you see above. This is a section of the same back yard seen in the first photo. The vibrant colour of the trunk of these palms had become so intense. The rain had helped showcase nature's colours once again!