Monsoonal storms lighting up the Southwest

Following days of unseasonably hot conditions and dry weather, a more widespread portion of the parched Southwest is experiencing an uptick in thunderstorm activity this week.

While an increase in precipitation will be welcome in any portion of the drought-ridden Southwest, other hazards may leave a sour taste in residents' mouths.

"Monsoon activity will get a bit of a boost from a stalled out frontal feature across the southern Plains this week," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said. "This will aid in pulling additional moisture out of the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California and focusing it across New Mexico and Arizona."

While thunderstorms have been able to develop for a few locations since last week, this increase in moisture will feed into the development of more widespread thunderstorms this week.

A majority of the moisture will filter across the Four Corners states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah to begin the week.

"Afternoon showers and thunderstorms will likely be able to expand northward across the Rocky Mountains into Thursday," Buckingham said.

Rainfall of any kind is essential for the dangerously dry Southwest.

On Tuesday, rain showers bubbled up and pivoted across portions of Southern California. During the morning hours, Downtown Los Angeles received 0.10 of an inch of rain, which not only set a record for the date but was the most rainfall on a single calendar day since the middle of March.

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In Utah, 65 percent of the state is in the midst of exceptional drought, which is the most extreme classification the U.S. Drought Monitor offers. The other 35 percent of the state is experiencing anything from moderate drought to extreme drought.

The situation is similar in Arizona, where nearly 58 percent of the state is undergoing exceptional drought. Just one percent of the state is not considered to be under any kind of drought status.

When the ground is that dry, thunderstorms can bring welcome rain, but can also present a host of negative impacts.

"The Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas have both experienced what the North American monsoon has to offer in recent days," Buckingham said. "Severe thunderstorms eventually went on to produce massive dust storms known as haboobs in both cities."

These thunderstorms and subsequent dust storms can feature all kinds of hazardous conditions as they roll through, including rapid reduction in visibility and air quality, dangerous lightning strikes and even a risk for flash flooding, according to Buckingham.

Visibility was near zero at times in portions of the Phoenix metro as a dust storm impacted the area on Saturday.

The Las Vegas National Weather Service (NWS) office tweeted a series of images on Saturday that demonstrated just how quickly blowing dust can become hazardous to travel.

While rain is welcome at any time in the Southwest, too much of a good thing too quickly can also be an issue.

When rainfall rates reach intense levels, rainwater is unable to soak into the ground quickly enough, leading to flash flooding. Flash flooding can quickly turn a busy intersection into a dangerous flowing body of water during a torrential downpour.

Travelers in metropolitan areas across the Four Corners states will need to keep an eye to the sky for any rapidly developing storms. Motorists should never attempt to forge a flooded roadway as one bad decision can quickly turn deadly.

In mountainous areas where rounds of heavier rain can fall, an additional threat may develop. Mudslides can occur when the soil along a slope becomes oversaturated and turns unstable. Debris flows from a mudslide can damage anything in its path, including homes or roadways.

Daily rounds of monsoonal thunderstorms will continue to develop across the Southwest throughout much of the week and even into the weekend.

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