Benson’s Fourth Street flooded weeks ago — more rain could be coming | StormTracker 4 Weather Headquarters

BENSON, Ariz. (KVOA) – Some Southern Arizona communities are remembering just how quickly monsoon flooding can take over as more rain is expected this weekend.

One of those places is Benson, where a flooded street went viral just two weeks ago. Part of Fourth Street looked more like a river than a road during the last storm.

It was clear and dry outside of The Cowboy Way store Friday afternoon, but more than two weeks the water didn’t stop at the curb.

“We had to pack the front door with all of our towels that we were going to sell, but we used them,” Amber Lee, the store’s co-owner, said.

Those towels tried to keep water out of the shop last month. Lee, who captured the footage, said the boutique has been in its current location for less than a year. Lee told News 4 Tucson that the floodwaters came close to the store’s men’s clothing section.

Wake and Bake Bakery sits just down the road. Olivia Webb works there and lives nearby.

She said during heavy rains, inches of water can collect on the street, as well as debris.

“We have a lot of construction that goes on from time to time and nails and other stuff can get swept in, so it’s something to watch out for,” Webb said.

Benson City Manager and Police Chief Greg Volker told News 4 Tucson during last month’s monsoon storm there were no wrecks or stalled cars. He credited an early warning from the National Weather Service, which allowed barricades to go up ahead of the storms.

Webb said the bakery always advises customers not to travel to them if it puts them at risk.

Lee, from The Cowboy Way, told News 4 Tucson her business plans to be better prepared when the monsoon arrives next year.

“Putting up a higher curb outside and then people have suggested sandbags, but more towels, we needed more towels that day,” she said.

The National Weather Service urges drivers to “Turn Around Don’t Drown” if they come across flooded roads.