NowWire · AI-assisted reporting summary · September 30, 2026 UTC
A combination of historic moisture from the remnants of Hurricane Polo and a plunging jet stream is spreading a major flood threat across the Plains, Midwest, and Southwest. According to The Weather Company, atmospheric moisture levels are near or above record levels for late September across parts of the Southwest, Texas, and Oklahoma. National Weather Service meteorologist Jonathan Finch noted in a Tuesday forecast discussion that heavy rains from tropical systems are extremely rare in western Kansas. [1]
Impacts and Timeline
Earlier in the week, flooding affected parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and California, including Indio Hills where vehicles were stuck, and Bullhead City which recorded 3.91 inches of rain. On Tuesday, a box truck was swept away north of Phoenix, and multiple water rescues occurred as flash floods hit areas from Tucson to Phoenix and parts of New Mexico. The flood threat shifts eastward into Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado, with potential severe storms, before reaching Michigan and Wisconsin, and eventually impacting the Southeast by the weekend. [1]
Sources
- Polo's historic moisture plume expands flood threat into Texas — 2026-09-30T09:30:00.000Z
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