The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida is issuing advisories on a new tropical cyclone that could bring flooding rains to the desert southwest. Known as 19-E, a new Tropical Depression formed in the Gulf of California. While it isn’t forecast to increase in strength, it is forecast to bring heavy amounts of rain into Mexico and the southwestern U.S.
In the last advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the center of Tropical Depression Nineteen-E was located near latitude 26.3 North, longitude 110.9 West. The depression is moving toward the north near 13 mph and this motion is expected to become more north-northeast tonight with a similar forward motion until the system dissipates on Thursday. On the forecast track the depression is forecast to move inland over northwestern Mexico this evening. Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph with higher gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1004 mb or 29.65″.
According to the NHC, Tropical Depression Nineteen-E is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 5 to 10 inches, with isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches across portions of Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, and Sonora through Thursday. This rainfall could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides. Moisture from this disturbance will also lead to areas of heavy rainfall and a risk of flash flooding in the southwestern United States beginning this evening.
Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas could all see significant rain from this system, prompting the National Weather Service to issue various flood-related advisories there. The National Weather Service urges people to “turn around, don’t drown; never drive through flood waters.”
