Graphic courtesy of AccuWeather.com
With the big dome of high pressure parked directly over the Southern Plains states, there’s a pinwheel of deep, tropical moisture cycling around the ridge and up into the Southwest. As the strong late July sun does it’s work and strongly heats the lower atmosphere over the Deserts and Great Basin and with all the moisture streaming out of the Gulf and Baja, you know thunderstorms will pop like cernals in a microwave.
Strong thunderstorm clusters are already showing up on radar over western Arizona this afternoon and these are tracking north and eventually northeastwards around the upper ridge. So, Las Vegas all the way up to Denver has a risk of seeing heavy, if not flooding rains this afternoon into this evening and remember that it doesn’t take a lot of rain to cause flash flooding over the hard desert lands. Cities like Las Vegas which perhaps get a quick quarter to half inch of rain can quickly see rising flood waters and a situation turning dangerous fast. Tucson, Phoenix, Yuma, Thermal, Palm Springs all the way north and east are all prone to flash flooding from these pop up thunderstorms which can tower to between 40-60,000 feet within hours. Watch for damaging winds and frequent cloud to ground lightning as well as the torrential downpours.
While the flow continues to stream north out of the western Gulf and Baja as the upper ridge continues to bake the central Plains in 110° heat, this thunderstorm and flash flood risk will remain each and every afternoon and evening from southern Arizona, southeast California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado through Friday.
Map courtesy of The Weather Channel
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