Monday, August 8, 2016

Surge of Tropical Moisture From Javier Headed For Southwest U.S.

August 8,2016
A surge of moisture associated with Tropical Storm Javier will result in stormy conditions for the Southwest starting late Tuesday.
Moisture from Javier and to its east will be pulled into the Southwest U.S. by a southward dip in the jet stream.
(FORECAST: Javier Near Baja California)
The center of Javier will remain well away from the Southwest U.S. and will dissipate near Baja California by early Wednesday. However, moisture associated with Javier and moisture to its east will get pulled north by a southward dip in the jet stream in the western United States.
All of this means that we will see widespread shower and thunderstorm activity in parts of Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah, and southern Colorado late Tuesday-Thursday.
(FORECAST: Albuquerque | Flagstaff | Phoenix | Tucson)
The usual impacts from monsoonal moisture surges into the Southwest will be in play. This includes blowing dust, heavy rainfall, flash flooding and dangerous lightning.
Rainfall totals are forecast to be 1-3 inches in parts of the Southwest, though locally higher amounts are possible.

Rainfall Forecast
Thunderstorms across the Southwest can sometimes produce torrential rain in a short period of time. In these situations, rivers, creeks or dry streams (arroyos) can quickly fill and produce high water on roadways.
As always, you should never attempt to drive through floodwaters.
Just last week we saw the impacts of what storms during the Southwest monsoon can do. Slow-moving storms caused flooding in the northern Phoenix area on Friday where water rescues were reported.
(MORE: Flooding Last Week in Arizona)
It's easy to misjudge the depth of floodwater, particularly at night. Sometimes the bridge or road masked by flood water may have been undermined or completely washed out.
According to FEMA:
- 6 inches of water will reach the bottom of most passenger cars, causing loss of control and potential stalling.
- 1 foot of water will float many vehicles.
- 2 feet of rushing water will carry away most vehicles, including SUVs and pickups.

MORE: Lightning Strikes on Iconic Places

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