Death Valley wrings out from historic 1-in-1,000-year rain event as monsoon slams Southwest

03:51

Death Valley National Park on historic rain: Roads 'completely washed away'

Park Ranger Jennette Jurado of the Death Valley National Park says roads will need to be rebuilt and crews are working to get access to some areas.

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. – Death Valley continues to assess damage from a historic rain event that led to widespread flood damage across the national park as other parts of the Southwest get slammed with monsoon rain.

All roads inside Death Valley National Park remain closed due to flooding, according to park officials, after nearly a year's worth of rain fell in three hours.

HUNDREDS STRANDED AFTER HISTORIC MONSOON RAINS INUNDATE DEATH VALLEY

"The heavy rain that caused the devastating flooding at Death Valley was an extremely rare, 1,000-year event," said Daniel Berc, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Las Vegas.

00:33

Camera captures rainstorm moving through Reno, Nevada

The National Weather Service of Reno, Nevada captures on camera a wave of rain taking over the city of Reno on August 8. (Video: @NWSReno/Twitter)

The "1,000-year event" term means the probability of a flooding event of that magnitude is 0.1% in any given year. 

WHAT DOES THE TERM ‘100-YEAR FLOOD’ ACTUALLY MEAN?

Death Valley experienced one of its rainiest days in history.

(FOX Weather)

Hundreds of miles of roads are known to have moderate to severe damage from floodwaters and debris flows, park officials said. An aerial tour of the park area found several vehicles that had been carried by raging waters to remote areas of the park. All drivers have been accounted for and are safe.

All park roads are expected to remain closed for days to months, though crews are hoping to reopen Highway 190 by Aug. 17 to allow access to the park's visitor center and hotels in Furnace Creek.

(FOX Weather)

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"Death Valley is an incredible place of extremes," park superintendent Mike Reynolds said in a release to the media. "It is the hottest place in the world and the driest place in North America. This week’s 1,000-year flood is another example of this extreme environment. With climate change models predicting more frequent and more intense storms, this is a place where you can see climate change in action!"

Flood threat across Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and California

02:13

Relentless monsoon continues in Southwest, flash flooding possible

Where storms do form, rich moisture will lead to impressive rain rates, easily exceeding 1" per hour, increasing the flash flood threat as storms will remain mostly stationary. 

The seemingly never-ending daily dose of showers and thunderstorms will continue this week as an upper-level high-pressure system will continue to pump abundant amounts of moisture northward from the Southwest through the Great Basin.

7 FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FLASH FLOODS

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The coverage of storms and overall flood threat will significantly increase Tuesday across Arizona, Nevada and the deserts of California. This includes Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, Las Vegas and Death Valley.

This will also include a very isolated severe threat, as any storms that are able to fully organize and mature will be capable of small hail and 50- to 60-plus-mph winds. 

MONSOON STORMS FLOOD ROADS, STRAND DRIVERS ALONG DENVER'S INTERSTATE 70

"Take extra caution in some of these canyons, also in areas of the area of recent burns scars," FOX Weather meteorologist Britta Merwin said. "Those are two areas that will flood more quickly in comparison to other locations.

The greatest concentration of storms will remain across the deserts of California, Arizona and Nevada for the rest of the week while spreading into Utah.