The remnants of Hurricane Polo are lashing the American Southwest with heavy rain, triggering widespread flooding and forcing evacuations in several small New Mexico communities due to fears of a dam failure.
Polo made landfall Tuesday morning in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kph). As the system crossed the Gulf of California and moved northeast, it weakened into a tropical storm before its moisture-laden bands began battering the United States.
In New Mexico, the potential collapse of a dam in the south-central region prompted authorities to order immediate evacuations for hundreds of residents in Rincon, Salem, and Garfield. Residents in nearby Hatch, known for its green chile crops, and the community of Placitas were also told to seek higher ground.
Arizona experienced significant drenching, leading to multiple water rescues. Rescue crews extracted one person stranded on top of a vehicle west of Phoenix early Tuesday morning. In Zion National Park, Utah, a helicopter rescued three people from flash flooding in Heaps Canyon. Additionally, a truck was swept away in a wash north of Phoenix; the driver escaped unharmed.
The National Weather Service noted that storms rolling through the region overnight Monday had already saturated the ground, worsening the flooding risk. The rocky, desert terrain receives less than 10 inches of rain annually and lacks sufficient vegetation to absorb sudden downpours, making flash flooding a constant threat.
“Definitely looking at the chances for urban flooding,” said Carter Greulich, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque. “Don’t drive through flooded roadways. Remain out of the arroyos, especially in our urban areas.”
The New Mexico Department of Transportation reported flooded roads and debris on highways statewide. Meanwhile, heavy rain is expected to move into Texas and Oklahoma later in the week, according to forecasters.
It’s alarming how quickly these systems weaken but dump such massive rainfall. Climate patterns are shifting fast.
I heard the dam situation in New Mexico is dire. Are those evacuations still mandatory for Hatch?
Stay safe everyone! That desert terrain really amplifies flash flood risks when storms hit hard.