Remnants of Hurricane Rosa are expected to bring heavy rain to the region through Wednesday.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash-flood watch from 3 a.m. Tuesday to 9 a.m. Wednesday for the region, including areas near the 416 Fire burn scar and the city of Durango, said Scott Stearns, meteorologist with the agency.
The storm is predicted to bring between 0.5 to 1.5 inches of rain through Wednesday, he said. Although, higher elevations could see more precipitation.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the center of Rosa, which was a hurricane until late Sunday, would bring 3 to 6 inches of rain Monday near Baja California and Sonora.
The storm was expected to move quickly northwestward as it weakens, bringing 2 to 4 inches of rain to central and southern Arizona and 1 to 2 inches to the rest of the desert Southwest, Central Rockies and Great Basin. Some isolated areas might see even more precipitation.
Rosa had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph Monday morning and was centered about 75 miles west of Punta Eugenia in Mexico. It was heading north-northeast at 12 mph.
“We’re expecting this to be a longer duration, more of a soaking rain type of event; it’s not going to be a quick thunderstorm,” Stearns said.
The rainfall is expected to be light to moderate, and no area should receive “huge deluges,” he said.
It was still unknown Monday afternoon if the storm would carry the heaviest moisture through central Utah, said Butch Knowlton, director of La Plata County’s Office of Emergency Management.
His office is in communication with the National Weather Service and plans to track the precipitation in the storm with equipment on Missionary Ridge once it arrives, he said.
“We are going to try to watch the radar as close as we can to determine what volumes are in those storms,” he said.
Large downpours could pose a risk to residents living near the 416 Fire burn area. They should be vigilant no matter the time of day, Knowlton said.
He expects most residents near the scar to be notified of potential flooding through the county’s CodeRED alert system or the National Weather Service.
Private citizens have cleared ravines and put in berms and other defensive structures around homes, he said. The rain is expected to start winding down mid-day Wednesday.
On Thursday, residents could see sunshine and some lingering showers, Stearns said.
A storm from the northwest is expected to arrive Friday or Saturday, which could bring snowfall to the higher elevations, he said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
