California flooding spreads as Polo moisture hits Texas
California flooding from Hurricane Polo's remnants is no longer confined to the Desert Southwest. Historic tropical moisture that soaked Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and California communities is surging into Texas and Oklahoma, raising flash-flood risks across the Southern Plains through at least Thursday.
Key Takeaways
- Polo's historic moisture plume is expanding flood threats from the Southwest into Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado.
- Southern Plains cities including Dallas, Austin and San Antonio could see 3 to 5 inches of rain.
- Vehicles were flooded in Needles and Indio Hills, California, during earlier Southwest downpours.
- New Mexico towns evacuated over dam-failure concerns along the Rio Grande.
- The National Weather Service urges drivers to turn around rather than enter floodwaters.
What is driving the California flooding threat east?
Deep tropical moisture from former Hurricane Polo combined with a plunging jet stream has already flooded parts of the Desert Southwest. According to The Weather Channel, atmospheric moisture over southern Arizona, New Mexico and far west Texas is near or above late-September records.
That plume is moving north through northern Mexico, New Mexico and Colorado and into Texas, with rainfall rates up to 2 inches per hour. Dry washes, slot canyons, burn scars and already flooded areas remain especially dangerous.
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Where has flooding already hit, and what comes next?
NPR reports Polo's remnants flooded roadways across the Southwest and forced evacuations in small New Mexico towns over concerns a dam could fail. Residents in Rincon, Salem, Garfield, Hatch and Placitas were told to seek higher ground.
Earlier impacts included flooding on Casino Drive in Laughlin, Nevada, water rescues near Phoenix, and vehicles stuck in Bullhead City, Arizona, plus Needles and Indio Hills, California. Bullhead City recorded 3.91 inches from Sept. 27–29, the highest confirmed Southwest total so far.
Forecast rainfall of 3 to 5 inches, with locally higher amounts, is possible from parts of Texas into Oklahoma. A similar stripe of heavy rain is expected from Kansas into southern Nebraska, northern Missouri, southern Iowa and northern Illinois.
When does the flash-flood risk peak in Texas?
On Wednesday, the flooding threat shifts eastward into Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado, with locally higher risk near Oklahoma City and Omaha. Tropical moisture may reach Wisconsin and Michigan, where flash flooding is also possible.
Thursday's heaviest threat remains focused on a Texas swath that includes Dallas and the Hill Country, then extends toward the Great Lakes. By the weekend, Polo's organization should be gone, but lingering moisture may feed days of rain in the Southeast as a cold front sweeps east.
Officials stress never to drive through flooded roads. A flash flood warning means flooding is occurring or imminent; a flash flood emergency signals a dire situation requiring higher ground.