Perhaps as an apology for only gracing us with a few drops of precipitation last monsoon season, Mother Nature has decided to really turn on the waterworks in 2021. As you’ll see in our 1A reporting this week, Fountain Hills has hit nearly 10 inches of rain so far this year, with two of those inches being dumped on the community in under 30 minutes last Friday night, Aug. 13.

The rain hit so hard and so fast that quite a few people found themselves stranded through the storm, though maybe none in quite as precarious a situation as Anthony Scimeca. Scimeca’s vehicle was whisked away by the flood and deposited in a local wash under a mountain of debris. Scimeca said he was trapped in his car for several hours before help arrived and, as of this writing on Monday morning, Aug. 16, the vehicle has not yet been dislodged and hauled off.

Friday’s storm is just another reminder that monsoon season is serious business in Arizona, especially when evening settles in and you can’t tell just how serious the clouds look overhead.

While Scimeca’s vehicle now looks like a permanent part of the landscape, he said he was otherwise unharmed in the incident. As of this writing, The Times has heard of other local incidents involving vehicles trapped by the storm, but none as harrowing as Scimeca’s unexpected transition from car driver to boat captain.

Let his good fortune serve as a reminder of just how wild the weather can get this time of year. Be safe out there.