Leftover moisture from Mario could end dry stretch in US Southwest
A departing storm will leave much of the West drier and warmer this weekend, though leftover moisture from Mario may steer northward into the Southwest next week.
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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 leftover moisture from Mario may move 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 fell in parts of the Northwest and Intermountain region on Friday.
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.
Tropical Storm Mario organized on Friday, and brought heavy rain and gusty winds to the western coast of Mexico through Friday night. While Mario is no longer trackable, any leftover moisture may track 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 leftover moisture from Mario closely," Zehr said.
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