Sunday, October 5, 2014

Simon to Contribute to Rain in Southwest US, Plains

By , Senior Meteorologist
October 5,2014; 9:25PM,EDT
 
 
Hurricane Simon will dramatically weaken prior to reaching Baja California but will still impact a portion of the southwestern and south-central United States later this week.
Simon continues to rapidly weaken after reaching its peak intensity of 130 mph Saturday night. The once-Category 4 hurricane is now passing over cooler water and lacks any fuel for further strengthening.
The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center is expecting Simon to become a tropical rainstorm before making landfall in Baja California at midweek.
Prior to landfall and despite the weakening trend, moisture from Simon will still get drawn northward into the United States.

That moisture should work to renew shower and thunderstorm activity across Arizona and New Mexico on Wednesday. The most numerous such activity should unfold in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico, including Tucson and Douglas, Arizona, and Silver City, Las Cruces and Gallup, New Mexico.
A couple of showers and thunderstorms will also rattle the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area, threatening to interfere with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
Simon will likely not to yield a repeat of Odile in terms of producing a concentrated area of extreme rain totals.
However, there is still concern for some downpours to unfold that will trigger flash flooding. Normally dry washes and arroyos may turn into raging waterways, while mudslides may ensue in the higher terrain.
RELATED:
Latest Statistics on Simon
Southwest U.S. Interactive Radar
AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center

As the thunderstorms commence, the danger of the winds kicking up blowing dust and haboobs will also exist in the deserts.
Moisture from Simon will likely spread farther to the north and east later in the week, interacting with another storm system and causing thunderstorms to return to Colorado and enhancing rainfall in the vicinity of the Texas panhandle, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.

The rain later in the week across the southern Plains would disrupt outdoor activities, cause travel slowdowns and will be monitored for possible flash flooding issues.
Know when the rain will hit by using AccuWeather's MinuteCast™. It has the minute-by-minute forecast for your exact location. Type your city name, select MinuteCast, and input your street address. On mobile, you can also use your GPS location.
Many residents, though, will welcome the prospect of rain due to the ongoing drought. In its latest report on Oct. 2, the United States Drought Monitor stated that a large part of the Texas panhandle and western Oklahoma remain in the midst of an extreme to exceptional drought.

The above is the latest map from the U.S. Drought Monitor. The red areas indicate where an extreme drought is occurring, while the dark red areas highlight exceptional drought.
Residents of the Desert Southwest and southern Plains should continue to check back with AccuWeather.com for the latest updates on where Simon's moisture will contribute to potentially flooding downpours.

On Social Media
Hurricane Pro/HD
HurricaneHD
Hurricane #Simon weakens, still no watches or warnings for Baja California, but be ready for the rain in a few... fb.me/4inoGiysf
Paul Gross
PaulGrossLocal4
Hurricane Simon should weaken to Trop. Dep. status before hitting Baja, but spread heavy rain over area and SW U.S. pic.twitter.com/d139JP9q33
Blaine Lasher
blainelasher
Remnants of Hurricane Simon bring rains to southern plains into S MO & KY. MT "@RyanMaue: 8-day GFS precip forecast. pic.twitter.com/y6iyTOSYmw"
 

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