Flood Watch
SevereFlood Watch issued September 20 at 11:18PM MDT until September 23 at 7:00PM MDT by NWS El Paso Tx/Santa Teresa NM
Begins Until 3 days left
Areas Southern Gila Foothills/Mimbres Valley, NM; Southwest Desert/Mimbres Basin, NM; Eastern Black Range Foothills, NM; Sierra County Lakes, NM; Northern Dona Ana County, NM; Southern Dona Ana County/Mesilla Valley, NM; West Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet, NM; Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet, NM; East Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet, NM; Otero Mesa, NM; Central Grant County/Silver City Area, NM; Southern Gila Region Highlands/Black Range, NM; West Central Tularosa Basin/White Sands, NM; East Central Tularosa Basin/Alamogordo, NM; Southeast Tularosa Basin, NM; Western El Paso County, TX; Eastern/Central El Paso County, TX; Northern Hudspeth Highlands/Hueco Mountains, TX; Rio Grande Valley of Eastern El Paso/Western Hudspeth Counties, TX
Full text
* WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible. * WHERE...Much of south-central New Mexico and Far West Texas, including El Paso, Las Cruces, and the Mesilla Valley. * WHEN...From Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening. * IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of arroyos, rivers, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Low-water crossings may be flooded, resulting in road closures. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - An early season back door cold front will interact with a late season plume of deep monsoonal moisture, bringing several rounds of thunderstorms with torrential downpours to the region Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening. Repeated thunderstorms may tend to focus in one or two areas, resulting in higher end precipitation totals. The most critical period with the heaviest rain potential will likely be Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. - A broad swath of moderate to locally heavy rainfall is likely to affect most of the Watch area between late Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday evening, with typical, scattered monsoon season flood impacts. However, there is increasing potential for a narrow band of repeated thunderstorms which will result in particularly heavy rainfall amounts, possibly exceeding 3 inches in a 6 to 12 hour period, resulting in higher-end impacts. Forecast models currently favor placing the focus for heaviest rainfall over the Mesilla Valley and El Paso. But forecasts this far out, especially when dealing with thunderstorms, are simply not accurate enough to precisely tell yet where exactly this area of heaviest rainfall will set up. It could just as easily shift west or east and avoid the more populated corridor. - http://www.weather.gov/ElPaso
What to do
The forecast will be fine-tuned and will evolve over time. You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings Tuesday afternoon and evening. The Wednesday morning commute may also be impacted. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.
NWS El Paso Tx/Santa Teresa NMShare this alert