Tropical Depression Paine to wash southwestern US with flooding downpours

By Renee Duff, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

September 20,2016; 9:30PM,EDT

 

 

Moisture from Tropical Depression Paine will spark flooding thunderstorms across part of the southwestern United States into Wednesday.
"[Paine] can lead to some enhanced rainfall across parts of the southwestern U.S. early this week," AccuWeather Meteorologist Evan Duffey said.

Paine is expected to continue to curve to the northeast.
Paine, previously a hurricane, has begun to weaken over cooler waters near the coast of Baja California, Mexico. While Paine will rapidly lose tropical characteristics and diminish, heavy rainfall will be unleashed for a time.
A significant amount of moisture from Paine will be drawn northeastward. This will induce drenching showers and thunderstorms from interior Southern California and much of Arizona to southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado into midweek.
A few showers and storms may reach Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas. The bulk of the heaviest rain, however, is expected to focus farther south and east. When it is not raining in these locations, some people may notice more humid conditions, when compared to average, due to the tropical influence into midweek.
Heavy and repeating storms that can lead to flash flooding are possible near Phoenix and in Flagstaff, Arizona; Durango, Colorado; and Palm Springs, California.
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Storms that wander close to major airport hubs could cause delays for incoming and outgoing airline passengers for a time.
While the rain will fall over areas that are experiencing drought conditions, too much rain in a short amount of time can lead to flash flooding.
Rainfall amounts of an inch or more can fall in an hour or less, which is enough to cause arroyos and canyons to become rushing rivers in a matter of minutes. Hikers should avoid the slot canyons over the next several days, due to the high risk of heavy rain and rapid flooding.
Motorists should be on alert for flooded and washed out roadways and sudden reduced visibility.

Even though Paine will dissipate beyond Wednesday, moisture may continue to stream into the Southwest later this week.
While downpours may depart Southern California, spotty showers and thunderstorms may continue over parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah during the middle and latter part of the week.
Following Paine's impact, a potent non-tropical storm will bring much cooler air into the southwestern United States late this week. The non-tropical storm will bring high winds, spotty rain and high country snow. Severe thunderstorms may also occur.
Story content contributed by Jordan Root and Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather meteorologists.