Tropical Storm Rosa heads for Southwest
PHOENIX: After soaking northwestern Mexico with heavy rains as it neared the Baja California Peninsula, reportedly claiming at least one victim, Tropical Storm Rosa is expected to drench the US Southwest.
From Arizona to Utah, some residents filled sandbags in anticipation of heavy rainfall and potential flooding.
The centre of Rosa, which was a hurricane until late on Sunday, was expected to hit Baja California and Sonora by early yesterday, bringing 7.5 to 15 centimetres of rain, the US National Hurricane Center said.
It’s then expected to move quickly northwestward as it weakens, bringing 5 to 10cm of rain to central and southern Arizona and 2.5 to 5cm to the rest of the desert Southwest, Central Rockies and Great Basin. Isolated areas might see even more precipitation.
In southern Arizona, heavy rain on Monday day flooded streets in Yuma and caused power outages in parts of the city. At least six roads in Tucson were closed because of flash flooding from washes that overflowed.
The Utah National Guard was activated on Monday to assist in flood mitigation efforts in Utah County.
The National Weather Service earlier announced flash flood watches through today for areas including southern Nevada, southeastern California, southwestern and central Utah and the western two-thirds of Arizona.
Forecasts call for heavy rainfall in the watch areas, which include Las Vegas, Phoenix and Salt Lake City, with possible flooding in slot canyons and normally dry washes and a potential for landslides and debris flows from recent wildfire burn scars.
National Weather Service meteorologists in Phoenix said central and northern Arizona stood to get hit with the heaviest amounts of precipitation.
Metropolitan Phoenix, where temperatures were above 38C only a few days ago, had already cooled to the 80s on Monday thanks to Rosa.
Moisture associated with the storm arrived ahead of it, bringing rain on Sunday night and Monday morning.
Phoenix meteorologist Jaret Rogers said more showers were expected across central Arizona before a weakened Rosa was to arrive in the area today.
According to the National Weather Service, the entire Phoenix area is expected to see between 2.5 to 5cm of rain. But some areas could see between 5 to 7.5cm.
“All that means is conditions are favourable for flash flooding if it rains,” Mr Rogers said. “It doesn’t mean something’s imminent.”
Rosa’s maximum sustained winds had decreased to 65kph as of Monday afternoon, and the storm’s centre was heading north-northeast at 17kph.
The Civil Defence agency for Baja California state said schools were closed on Monday in several communities, including the state capital of Mexicali, across the border from Calexico, California; San Felipe, on the northern Sea of Cortez; and south of Ensenada, on the peninsula’s Pacific coast.