Record-breaking rain dumps 3 inches and more on Phoenix [UPDATE]

PHOENIX, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A record-breaking deluge Monday morning brought 3 inches and more of rain to the Phoenix area and flash flooding to much of the southwest.

At least one death was blamed on the storm. A woman was killed in Tucson when her car was swept into the Alamo Wash and carried downstream.

The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for a good chunk of the Southwest. It included much of Arizona, parts of western Colorado and southern Utah, and extended into Nevada.

NWS forecasters announced via Twitter at 10:20 a.m. that 2.96 inches of rain had been recorded at Sky Harbor Airport in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. That broke a record set in 1933 in a city where records date back to 1895.

Gov. Jan Brewer declared a statewide emergency. She also ordered all non-essential state employees to remain at home.

Officials said the storm was unusual because of its extent and duration. Some parts of the area had recorded 5 inches of rain by late morning.

"Occasionally we'll get a storm that really dumps on the west end of U.S. 60, or the central part, but not to this extent over the whole urban area," Steve Waters, a manager with the Maricopa County Flood Control District, told the Arizona Republic in the early morning. "There is still rain coming from the southwest. We're going to be in this for the better part of the day."

The storm left thousands of people without power. Schools were closed, and commuters who did try to get to work found many roads closed.

That included a section of Interstate 10, the highway that connects the southern tier of the United States. At least two roads were blocked by mudslides.

Some drivers ended up trapped in their cars.