Here are 7 facts about monsoon season.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A significant pattern shift across parts of the Southwest will mark the arrival of the first signs of the annual monsoon season, bringing heavy rainfall and the potential for flash flooding to communities in both New Mexico and West Texas.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, the convergence of moisture from both the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern Pacific will result in widespread rainfall totals of at least an inch across the region.
Additionally, isolated totals of 3 to 5 inches are possible across mountainous terrain southeast of Albuquerque over the coming week.
(FOX Weather)
Forecasters say the unique positioning of a high-pressure ridge over the Southeast and a trough over the Four Corners will help steer drier air into Southern California and Arizona.
As a result, cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson are expected to largely miss out on this early plume of moisture, but with the monsoon season just beginning, more opportunities for widespread storms will occur during the coming months.
Cities including Roswell, Santa Fe and Albuquerque in New Mexico, and El Paso in Texas, are all situated directly in the line of fire of the developing moisture plume, which is expected to remain in place for much of the workweek.
SOUTHWEST MONSOON SEASON: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Any thunderstorms that develop could produce gusty winds, heavy rainfall and frequent lightning – all of which can produce additional risks such as fires, flooding and haboobs.
Recent wildfires in areas like the Gila and Lincoln National Forests have left behind vulnerable burn scars, which increases the likelihood of flash flooding.
Rainfall over scorched terrain can lead to sudden runoff and debris flows, with little or no warning.
Two communities forecasters will be watching closely are the village of Ruidoso and the town of Las Vegas, along and east of Interstate 25.
These areas have experienced significant impacts from past monsoonal rains, which have ranged from water rescues to compromised drinking water due to flooding and debris flows.
2024 Monsoon Season: Kerry Gladden, public information officer for the village of Ruidoso in New Mexico, joined FOX Weather to talk about the destruction caused by recent wildfires and floods. July 23, 2024.
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“Lightning is a double-edged sword here,” the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque explained. “Early in the monsoon, when vegetation is still dry, lightning strikes can spark new fires. But as rain becomes more consistent, the fire threat diminishes.”
The increase in rainfall will bring temporary relief from wildfire activity and dangerous heat, with increased cloud cover helping to moderate temperatures.
An upper-level ridge is forecast to rebuild over the region by next weekend, which would reduce rain chances and push temperatures back into the upper 90s.
Monsoon season officially runs through September 30, and forecasters expect renewed chances for showers and thunderstorms across the Desert Southwest in the coming weeks.
How a typical monsoon forms in the Southwest.
(FOX Weather)
