Flooding rain, severe thunderstorms shift to interior West into Friday
A storm responsible for areas of rain and thunderstorms and severe weather through midweek over the Southwest will focus its efforts farther inland over the western United States into Friday.
The clash of mountain snow and vivid fall foliage led to incredible views on and around Mammoth Mountain on Oct. 22.
A large storm will continue to spin slowly through the interior western United States through the end of this week. The storm will bring beneficial rain to drought-stricken areas and help lower wildfire threats, but it will also raise the risk of flash flooding, mudslides and severe thunderstorms.
Several rounds of rain will be associated with the massive setup, with rain continuing to shift well inland from the West Coast to parts of the Rockies. A small amount of leftover tropical moisture from Trudy may also become involved over the interior Southwest.
Showers and thunderstorms will persist on Friday. At least sporadic showers and storms will linger over the interior West into the weekend.
Mudslides and other debris flows can occur in any steep terrain, but areas that have recently experienced wildfires will face a much higher risk. Downpours in urban areas and deserts can lead to dangerous flash flooding. Normally dry streambeds and drainage basins can rapidly become raging rivers.
Torrential downpours and the risk of flash flooding will continue to pester areas from New Mexico and Colorado to the adjacent High Plains to the east through this weekend.
Life-threatening conditions are possible as some arroyos and small streams may become raging rivers. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ rainfall is 10 inches.
After bringing damaging winds, hail and even a tornado or two on Wednesday and Thursday, the threat on Friday and Saturday will be largely focused on New Mexico.
Thunderstorms will be capable of producing flash flooding, localized damaging wind gusts, hail and even a tornado or two on both days.
Since part of the storm setup involves a large dip in the jet stream, which is associated with chilly air in the upper levels of the atmosphere, some snow will fall over the ridges and peaks of the Sierra Nevada into Friday morning. While some wet snowflakes can mix in from time to time, no snow accumulation is anticipated over the passes.
The large storm with vast areas of rain will bring another round of runoff into the Colorado River basin. It will take much more rain than this storm can provide to ease the historically low water levels, but the impending rain will help somewhat in the short term.
Water levels have risen about 5 feet from their lowest level on Sept. 16 on Lake Powell, while water levels continue to fall farther south along the Colorado River basin at Lake Mead.
It will take a winter full of storms with heavy mountain snow to significantly raise water levels during the subsequent spring thaw due to vast areas of extreme to exceptional drought in the region.
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