Odile Nearing the Arizona Border; Polo Nearly a Hurricane; Edouard Weakens to Cat 1

Tropical Storm Odile is being pulled apart by wind shear as it tracks northeast at 6 mph across the northern Gulf of California. At 11 am EDT Wednesday, Odile was still a minimal 40 mph tropical storm, and had advanced within 110 miles of the Arizona border. According to NOAA's Historical Hurricane Tracks website, only two other named storms since 1949 are recorded to have maintained tropical storm strength in the Gulf of California so close to Arizona--Nora of 1997, and Katrina of 1967. Both were still hurricanes when they made landfall at the northern end of the Gulf of California. Two other named storms, Raymond (1989) and Lester (1992), made landfall in the Gulf of California south of where Odile is, but managed to maintain tropical storm strength all the way into Southeastern Arizona (thanks to wunderground member Webberweather53 for pointing this out.) Satellite loops show that the low-level circulation of Odile is still over water, but nearly all of Odile's heavy thunderstorms and a circulation at mid-levels have moved ashore near the Arizona/Mexico border. Odile will likely become a remnant low Wednesday night. Copious moisture from Odile's circulation brought scattered heavy rains to Southeast Arizona and Southwest New Mexico on Tuesday, with 24-hour rainfall amounts of 0.5 - 1.5" common. Heavy rain will ramp up in intensity significantly on Wednesday evening, though, as the core of Odile's remnants cross the Arizona border. Southeast Arizona and Southwest New Mexico are at the at highest risk of flooding, with rainfall amounts of 3 - 6" likely, and up to 9" may fall in the mountains. A flash flood watch is posted for Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona, and for Las Cruces, New Mexico. Odile's heavy rains come just ten days after moisture from Hurricane Norbert drenched Southern Arizona, bringing Phoenix its heaviest single-day rainfall in recorded history. According the the NWS in Tucson, the arrival of moisture from Odile just ten days after Norbert marks the first time on record that moisture from two tropical storms have brought the state heavy rains in a 10-day span.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/show.html