Monsoon storm

Thousands without power as Phoenix recovers from big storm

The area's two major utilities reported that 50,000 customers still had no electricity Tuesday morning — down from 70,000 immediately after Monday evening's storm.

The severe weather began moving through the area around sundown and swept across central Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe with lightning, winds of up to 65 mph and up to 1.3 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Monsoon storm flips small planes at Phoenix-area airport

Fire officials say 41 planes were damaged, some severely, after a microburst hit the Chandler Municipal Airport Tuesday night. Television images show the planes flipped upside down, shoved into piles or with their wings snapped.

In other areas of Chandler, ABC-15 TV reports power poles were broken off by high winds and more than a dozen trees in a large pecan grove were downed.