A potent cut off low which produced heavy rain for California last week is set to slide back onshore in the next 48-72 hours bringing more heavy rain and storms. How can this be? The system has ultimately done a loop the loop sliding initially into California then Arizona before turning south into Mexico and then back out into the Pacific. With southward shift of the low, an unusually powerful upper ridge formed bringing record hot days and nights to many across the Southwest this week. That system which helped give will help take away.

The system is a prolific lightning producer.

Up to 8,000 lightning strikes have occurred over California overnight.

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There’s even a flash flood warning for Death Valley NP. It was a record 107 degrees here just two days ago.

Record heat has been common place throughout the West in recent days.

Some record-high temps on Wednesday: Salt Lake City, UT (82 F) Austin, TX (95 F) Reno, NV (87 F) San Antonio, TX (95 F).

Las Vegas has seen 6 straight morning’s above 70 degrees which is an October record. It also tied a record high of 95 in recent days.

Santa Monica, CA has experienced record warm nights. Interestingly 4 of the 11 warmest lows have occurred this year.

The below GFS surface shows the increase in Southwest rainfall in the coming days which will cut down the heat from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City. Also note the low thicknesses pushing through the GL into the Ohio Valley and Northeast as the strongest, coldest trough yet slides southeast bringing snow to higher elevations.

This is not an air mass to be sniffed at when looking at the 850mb temps.

 

See the video for today’s discussion.

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