The National Weather Service is warning of a prolonged period of thunderstorms and heavy rainfall in the U.S. Southwest later this week due to tropical moisture from Hurricane Priscilla. The storm, expected to weaken by landfall in Baja California, will still bring significant rain to states including Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, with a high risk of flash floods.
The National Weather Service is warning of a “multi-day period” of storms across the U.S. Southwest later this week as tropical moisture from Hurricane Priscilla works its way northward. Newsweek reached out to the National Hurricane Center by email for comment.
Why It Matters Hurricane Priscilla is the 16th named storm of the 2025 Eastern Pacific hurricane season. As of a recent update from the NHC, Priscilla had maximum wind speeds of 80 mph, making it a Category 1 storm. The storm is expected to weaken into a post-tropical depression by the time it makes landfall in Baja California on Friday night. Despite its weakening power, heavy rain from the storm will stretch as far north as the U.S. Desert Southwest later this week. A forecast cone from the NHC shows Hurricane Priscilla’s path. What to Know The NWS warned of Priscilla’s expected U.S. impacts in a Wednesday morning forecast. “Tropical moisture will bring a multi-day period of thunderstorms and locally heavy rainfall across the Southwest beginning Thursday,” the forecast said. It went on to add that the moisture will stream northward and bring locally heavy rain to the Desert Southwest and Four Corners region. A map from the NHC showed a risk of flash floods stretching as far north as Northern Utah. Other states expecting heavy rain include Western Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Southern Nevada, and Southern California. The heavy rain will begin on Thursday and persist into the weekend, with the highest risk of flash floods expected on Saturday. AccuWeather warned that “more than a month of rain” could fall over a few days across the Desert Southwest. A rainfall map included with the AccuWeather forecast showed that heavy rain associated with tropical moisture from Priscilla could stretch as far north as Salt Lake City, Utah. AccuWeather anticipates the heaviest rains to stay south and east of Las Vegas, according to a forecast. In addition to heavy rain, Priscilla is bringing dangerous swells and life-threatening rip currents to southwestern and west-central Mexico and the southern Baja California peninsula. What People Are Saying AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said in a report: “There is a growing risk that tropical moisture can bring heavy rain and some flooding into the Southwest Thursday night into the weekend. “Flash floods happen very quickly. Since the Southwest doesn’t typically get as much rain, it can take only a small amount of rain to cause a flash flood. Any non-flooding rainfall should be beneficial in areas dealing with severe or extreme drought.” What Happens Next Meteorologists will continue tracking Hurricane Priscilla, as well as Tropical Storm Octave, which recently formed behind Priscilla. People in the impacted areas should follow local weather guidance as the storms develop.
Hurricane Priscilla Southwest Heavy Rain Flash Floods Weather Forecast
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