
To offer a companion measurement to the official observations at KPHX, the Phoenix Rainfall Index (PRI) was been created. This is especially true during the monsoon. While KPHX did a good job of reprenting rainfall of Phoenix when it was smaller, with the vast sprawl of the area now there are times where portions of the PMA receive rain while other, including KPHX, do not. Since 1933, it has resided at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (KPHX). Historically, the official rain gauge for the Phoenix Metropolitan Area (PMA) has been situated near the center of the city. Phoenix Rainfall Index Phoenix, Arizona is a vast, sprawling metropolis which covers an area of nearly 2000 sq-mi. Currently, the District has around 300 automatic rain gages, 170 automatic stream gages and 35 automatic weather stations throughout Maricopa and neighboring counties. After the 1993 floods, the District started placing more gages in smaller washes and upstream of unbridged road crossings. Gages were first placed to monitor the major rivers, then later installed on District dams and flood control structures. The Flood Control District started the ALERT system in 1980 after the late-1970s floods.


The information provided by the ALERT (Automated Local Evaluation in Real Time) system is important to the District and other agencies because occasional heavy rainfall can generate stream flows which significantly impact flood control facilities such as dams and channels. The Flood Control District of Maricopa County T he Flood Control District of Maricopa County operates a 24-hour rain, stream and weather gage network which provides "real-time" information to the County and many other agencies about rainfall, floods, and weather conditions in Maricopa County.
