NWS Warns of Potential Tropical Storm Development off Northwestern Gulf Coast
The US National Weather Service said a potential tropical cyclone is expected to gather strength and develop into tropical storm Arthur off the northwestern Gulf coast through Wednesday.A severe weather outbreak is likely in the Midwest on Wednesday, while parts of northwestern Gulf Coast, lower Mississippi River Valley, and Deep South are expected to face considerable local flash flooding through Thursday due to excessive rainfall.The NWS early Wednesday issued a red flag warning for New Mexico's Farmington, Chama, Gallup, Santa Fe, Moriarty, Santa Rosa, Socorro, Ruidoso, Los Alamos, and Albuquerque. Meanwhile, an extreme heat warning was raised for Roswell. TXNM Energy (TXNM) unit Public Service Co. of New Mexico and Xcel Energy (XEL) are among the primary electricity suppliers in the state.A red flag warning was issued for Idaho's Mountain Home, Twin Falls, Shoshone, Burley, Malad City, Preston, Montpelier, Arco, Mackay, Dubois, Rexburg, Rigby, Idaho Falls, Driggs, Blackfoot, Palisades, Pocatello, Soda Springs, and Island Park. PacifiCorp unit Rocky Mountain Power and Idacorp's (IDA) Idaho Power are among the major service providers in these places.Also covered under a red flag warning watch were Wyoming's Wright, Glenrock, Bill, Lusk, Lance Creek, Glendo, Douglas, Torrington, Wheatland, Chugwater, Cheyenne, and Newcastle. These areas primarily fall under the service area of Rocky Mountain Power.A similar warning was also issued for Utah's Provo, Vernal, Duchesne, Price, Manti, Richfield, Delta, Milford, St. George, Zion National Park, Escalante, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Green River, Moab, Monticello, Blanding, Bluff and Cedar City. These places are also primarily served by Rocky Mountain Power.Affected areas in Colorado included Craig, Rangely, Meeker, Steamboat Springs, Kremmling, Rifle, Vail, Grand Junction, Aspen, Buena Vista, Montrose, Nucla, Gunnison, Lake City, Telluride, Alamosa, Pagosa Springs, Durango, Cortez, Salida, South Fork, Creede, Wolf Creek Pass, Saguache, San Luis, Trinidad, Leadville, Woodland Park, Canon City, Pikes Peak, Georgetown, Boulder, Granby, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. Xcel Energy and Black Hills (BKH) unit Black Hills Energy are the primary service providers in the state.In Nebraska, areas placed under a warning for fire weather conditions included Harrison, Chadron, Scottsbluff, Bridgeport, Alliance, Harrisburg, Kimball, Sidney, Rushville, Oshkosh, Arthur, Hyannis, Chappell, Ogallala, Grant, Imperial, Valentine, Mullen, Thedford, Tryon, Stapleton, North Platte, Stockville, Broken Bow, Burwell, Brewster, Ainsworth, Springview, Butte, and ONeill. A major part of the state is covered under the service area of regional transmission organization Southwest Power Pool, with Midcontinent ISO also serving some areas.The NWS also issued red flag warnings for Washington's Ellensburg and Yakima; and Oregon's Prineville, Bend, Madras, Redmond, and areas near Silver Lake. Pacific Power subsidiary Pacific Power is among the major service providers for affected areas in both the states.South Dakota's Custer, Hermosa, Hot Springs, Edgemont, Kadoka, Pine Ridge, Martin, and Wall, primarily served by Black Hills Energy, were also placed under a red flag warning watch.The NWS issued an extreme heat warning for Grand Canyon Village in Arizona, where Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) unit Arizona Public Service Company is the primary service provider.In Texas, an extreme heat warning was issued for Eagle Pass, Uvalde, San Antonio, Pleasanton, Hallettsville, Carrizo Springs, Pearsall, Karnes City, Cuero, Gonzales, La Grange, Bastrop, Austin, and Georgetown. A flood warning was raised for Laredo, Corpus Christi, Rockport, Refugio, Victoria, Bay City, Lufkin, Kountze, Orange, and Beaumont. Meanwhile, Galveston was covered under a tropical storm warning watch. The Texas units of American Electric Power (AEP) and Entergy (ETR), Centrepoint Energy (CNP), and Sempra unit (SRE) Oncor are among the major service providers in these places.In Louisiana, Cameron, Abbeyville, New Iberia, and Morgan City were covered under a tropical storm warning watch. Meanwhile, a flood warning was issued for Jennings, De Quincy, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Oberlin, Glenmora, Crowley, De Ridder, Hammond, and Alexandria. Entergy's Louisiana unit, AEP's Southwestern Electric Power Company, and Cleco are among the major service providers in Louisiana.Mississippi's McComb and Hattiesburg, primarily served by Southern Company (SO) unit Mississippi Power were also covered under a flood warning watch.The NWS also issued flood warnings for certain pockets of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Washington.