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| In a still image from a video, extreme flooding from Hurricane Hilary in Santa Rosalia, Mexico, on the Baja Peninsula. This could well be a preview of what will happen in the southwestern U.S. today. |
By the time it reaches California, it will be downgraded to a tropical storm, but that doesn't matter in terms impacts.
Huge areas of the West are under flood watches and warnings. Damaging high winds are expected in Mexico, up through southern California and western Arizona, through Nevada, and possible up to the Idaho border.
Most of these winds will whistle over mountain passes.
Rain is the real story, as unprecedented rains will be unleashed.
NOAA's Weather Prediction Center said some normally arid areas will see a year's worth of rain in on day. Nevada is in line to have its wettest day anywhere in the state, as up to seven inches of rain are expected in some of the mountains in southern Nevada.
In these mountains, the most rain usually falls in the winter, on the west side of the slopes as storms come in from the Pacific Ocean.
This will be different. The very arid east slopes will see the moisture come in on strong east and southeast winds. This is quite a rare occurrence. Places that practically get no rain could see it come down at a rate of up to three inches per hours.
That's a recipe for not only for extreme flash floods, but debris flows and mud slides as well.
The moisture from Hilary is streaming as far north as Oregon and Idaho, and flash floods are expected there as well.
Rainfall forecasts in broad terms are about the same as they were in Vermont with the catastrophic flooding we had on July 10-11.
Believe it or not, despite the wet weather we had before that Vermont event, a little of that rainfall was able to soak into our ground, though much of it rain off and caused our flooding. In the deserts and rocks and ridges and mesas of southern California and Nevada, very little if any water will soak in.
It will all rush down hillsides into the settlements, small cities and resorts in California, Nevada and Arizona
The areas around big cities like Los Angeles and San Diego will have their share of problems with flooding, debris flows and wind damage.
But the most extreme trouble is inland, through places like Death Valley, Coachella, San Bernardino, Palm Springs, California and Yuma, Arizona. Extreme flooding is likely there.
Joshua Tree and Death Valley national parks are of course closed. The irony is just three weeks ago, a wildfire was damaging Joshua Tree National Park.
Heavy rains have already fallen in advance of Hilary, causing flooding in California and around Las Vegas. Sin City should have some pretty intense floods from this one.
There will be a lot of news on this later today, I'm sure.
MIDWEST HEAT
Meanwhile, most of the nation's middle is in a long lasting heat wave that will last days, causing misery from Texas to the Dakotas.
An intense dome of high pressure is parked over the region, causing the heat. Record high temperatures have already occurred, and more are on the way.
Temperatures could go as high as 105 degrees as far north as parts of South Dakota.
The longer a heat wave goes on, especially one with record highs like this one, the more dangerous it gets for human health. The heat started in earnest Saturday, and will go into this Friday.
In places like Texas and Louisiana, the heat started weeks ago and will only intensify over the next few days.
WILDFIRES
Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest is suffering from dry winds, wildfires and smoke from those fires in the United States and up in British Columbia.
An entire town of 5,000 people in eastern Washington State was evacuated, and the fire closed part of Interstate 90, a major route into and out of Spokane. One person has already reportedly died in the fires.
Strong, dry east winds, partly from the remains of Hilary, are expected to worsen the fires today and tomorrow.
QUIET FOR US THOUGH
The heat in the Midwest will be held at bay by a northwest air flow out of Canada that will keep the weather quiet here. I think for once, we in Vermont have practically the only boring weather in the nation.
Skies this week will be partly cloudy on average. There might be a couple light showers Monday and perhaps something a little more substantial but not dangerous at the end of the week. Since the air flow will be from the northwest it will be cool.
This being the awful summer of 2023, you know we can't escape everything. Wildfire smoke from Canada's Northwest Territories and British Columbia is over us today, causing some haze and making the air quality not great.
This state of affairs should continue in varying intensities through the week. Haze from smoke will continue to be a frequent visitor to the Green Mountain State.
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