Tropical Storm Mario in Pacific could end dry stretch in US Southwest
A departing storm will leave much of the West drier and warmer this weekend, though Tropical Storm Mario off Mexico may steer moisture northward into the Southwest next week.
AccuWeather’s Ali Reid explains how departments that help protect against forest fires are preparing for a busy fall in New Jersey.
The large storm that brought cooler air, soaking showers and gusty thunderstorms from the Rockies to near the Pacific coast in recent days will shift away this weekend. However, the return of dry weather may only be temporary as Tropical Storm Mario near Mexico may send moisture northward next week.
From Wednesday morning through Thursday morning, many areas from the Rockies to the Interstate 5 corridor in the United States received a few hundredths to several tenths of an inch of rain. Some parts of Northern California and eastern Oregon received between 0.50 and 1 inch of rain. Most areas from western Arizona to southern Nevada and Southern California have remained free of rain.
Additional rain will fall in parts of the Northwest and Intermountain region through Friday, before dry conditions return this weekend. The rain will help ease wildfire concerns for some areas in the short term and, in the most extreme cases, could lead to flash flooding and debris flows in recent burn scar locations.
The same large storm system will lead to severe weather from parts of the Rockies to the Great Plains and Upper Midwest into the weekend.
"The zone from Arizona and New Mexico to Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana look to be mainly dry from later this weekend to well into next week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Heather Zehr said. "Temperatures will trend upward to near seasonal levels for mid-September."
"We expect a weak storm to move into Washington and parts of Oregon and Idaho for the second half of the weekend, and that will bring back some clouds and showers," Zehr said. A few thunderstorms may also develop.
A tropical depression formed off the coast of Mexico on Thursday afternoon. As of Friday morning, the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Mario.
"The center of Mario is expected to remain offshore, but outer bands could bring heavy rainfall capable of triggering mudslides in parts of western Mexico," AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said. While the strongest winds are expected to mostly remain offshore, gusty winds of 40-60 mph can occur along the coast through early Saturday.
Mario has a chance of becoming a hurricane, but it will likely spend most of this weekend as a tropical storm southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula.
As Mario moves along, it should lose wind intensity next week. However, it may help to send some tropical moisture northward into the Southwest states.
"Some moisture may begin to show up in the form of clouds and spotty showers as early as Tuesday in parts of Southern California, Arizona and southern Nevada but are more likely from Wednesday on," Zehr said.
It is also possible that an area of high pressure that develops over the interior West next week may hold off the bulk of the moisture. In that case, there may be little to no rain.
"Parts of the Southwest may experience only higher humidity levels, but we will be watching the track of the tropical depression and its moisture closely," Zehr said.
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