The week before Christmas could be rainy in California, marking the arrival of the long-awaited wet season.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 Lots of brown here on the map.
00:07 I don't remember the last time we weren't talking
00:09 about drought in the South Central States.
00:12 Now really, Texas has been an epicenter,
00:14 but Louisiana has been quite bad as well.
00:17 You can see the widespread area of charcoal
00:19 as you're getting across the Gulf Coast.
00:20 That's where we have exceptional levels of drought
00:23 right now, highest level of drought that there is.
00:25 But looking to the West here,
00:27 I don't want to ignore New Mexico,
00:29 where you can see the two bullseyes here
00:31 in the Southwest and Southeastern corners of the state.
00:34 We also have exceptional drought in New Mexico.
00:37 And just a reminder,
00:38 New Mexico last year was the epicenter of our fire season.
00:42 It was a horrible year for fires in New Mexico.
00:45 Now fire season this year has been more tame,
00:47 but boy, we could really use some rain
00:49 to help out with the drought conditions.
00:51 We are gonna get some rain,
00:52 but also a little winter weather
00:54 with the storm brewing right now
00:55 across the Southern Plains.
00:56 You can see the snow moving
00:58 through the mountains of New Mexico.
00:59 Hey, skiers, snowboarders,
01:00 you're gonna love this more in just a minute,
01:03 but let's talk about the rain first.
01:05 Oklahoma City back down toward Amarillo,
01:07 Lubbock, you're gonna want the umbrella
01:08 and the AccuWeather app as you move through your Wednesday
01:10 and even Thursday as well.
01:12 Here's the big snapshot of our storm,
01:14 and you can see the green extending all the way down
01:16 to the Rio Grande Valley.
01:18 Heaviest of rain though,
01:19 back toward the center of this slow mover
01:21 into the Panhandle of Texas
01:23 and even the Panhandle of Oklahoma.
01:25 On the backside of the storm,
01:26 that's where we get enough cold air from the North
01:28 to really bring in that taste of winter.
01:30 Let's talk more about the rainfall.
01:32 I am concerned for flash flooding,
01:33 especially into North Texas,
01:35 and again, the Panhandle of Oklahoma.
01:37 Look at this bullseye right here.
01:39 You ready?
01:40 I'm gonna play out future rainfall,
01:41 and the clock's just gonna keep ticking,
01:43 and it's like we're just filling in the lines here,
01:44 just coloring in the lines between I-40 and I-20,
01:48 and then again, back toward,
01:49 let's say, Guymon, Oklahoma, for example.
01:51 That heavy rain falling all in one place,
01:53 especially in a drought-stricken area,
01:56 that's what leads to flash flooding so easily.
01:58 So if you live in Guymon or even, let's say, Amarillo,
02:00 please be careful today and tonight,
02:02 even into tomorrow morning.
02:04 Now let's talk about our taste of winter.
02:05 You can see the snowfall into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains
02:08 and even into the Rockies as well, Southern Colorado.
02:11 Highest amounts in that foot to foot and a half range.
02:14 I told you, skiers, snowboarders,
02:15 if you're heading to Taos or Angel Fire,
02:17 oh, you're gonna have a great time
02:19 with all this fresh powder,
02:20 but I will say it is gonna be rough travel
02:22 along I-25 and I-40 through Thursday night.
02:25 [BLANK_AUDIO]