Monsoonal Moisture Helping Western Wildfires
July 08, 2012; 5:12 AM
Residents of the Four Corners are getting some relief from recent wildfires thanks to a plume of monsoonal moisture across the region.
A southerly flow of moisture coming out of Mexico and the tropics has set up around a large area of high pressure centered over the Plains.
This is the same ridge of high pressure responsible for the unrelenting heat over two-thirds of the country.
At any rate, daily bouts of showers and thunderstorms will continue through the weekend over the high spots of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado as well as some of the lower elevations over eastern Colorado.
As Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski pointed out, "Gusty winds racing away from these thunderstorms could trigger massive dust storms across parts of the region."
These storms will bring much needed rain and an increase in humidity to areas ravaged by wildfires over the last several weeks.
Good news for residents outside of Colorado Springs as the Waldo Fire is up to 95% contained according to InciWeb.
This fire has become the most destructive fire in Colorado history with nearly 350 homes destroyed thus far.
Now, because of all the charred land, a flash flood potential exists should heavy thunderstorms move over the region. Heavy rainfall over the region could lead to dangerous flash flooding and potential debris flows downstream from the burn areas, especially into western and northwestern parts of Colorado Springs.
The second most destructive fire in history, the High Park Fire located to the west of Fort Collins has destroyed over 250 homes. However, the increase in humidity and thunderstorm activity has allowed firefighters to reach 100% containment.
Several other fires over Colorado are burning, but the spreading has slowed dramatically over the last few days thanks to the increase in moisture.
Additional moisture will stream into these charred and burning zones through the weekend keeping rain chances relatively high. Under these weather conditions, very little fire growth is expected.
Keep checking back with AccuWeather.com over the next few days for additional updates on the relief coming to areas devastated by wildfires.
Also see the AccuWeather.com Severe Weather Center for the latest flash flood watches and warnings over the Four Corners.