Tropical StormLorena formed in the Eastern PacificOceanon Tuesday morning off the southwest coast ofMexico, and the NationalHurricaneCenter (NHC) saysTropical Storm Watchescould be issued later Tuesday for portions of the Baja California Peninsula. According to the FOX Forecast Center, some of thetropical moisturefrom Lorena could enhance the seasonalmonsoonweather pattern across theSouthwestU.S., with heavy rain beginning late Thursday or early Friday. Tropical Storm Lorena is currently about 240 miles west of Manzanillo, Mexico. The NHC said that Tropical Depression Twelve-E strengthened into Tropical Storm Lorena Tuesday morning when sustainedwindsreached 45 mph, officially designating it as atropical storm. What's The Difference Between A Tropical Depression, Tropical Storm And Hurricane? A tropical storm is a tropical cyclone that has maximum sustained winds between 39 and 73 mph – an upgrade from atropical depression. The current forecast track calls for Tropical Storm Lorena to move northwestward, parallel to the Mexican coast, before potentially moving over part of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula sometime Friday. According to the FOX Forecast Center, heavy rain is expected to start impacting Baja California by Wednesday, with 4-8 inches of rain possible. Noaahas indicated thatHurricane Huntersmay investigate the system Wednesday afternoon. According to the FOX Forecast Center, abundantatmosphericmoisture from Lorena will surge into the SouthwestU.s.from Thursday into the weekend. While the heaviest rain is expected across Mexico, parts ofArizonaandNew Mexicocould receive a widespread 1-2 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts possible. This is a somewhat similar pattern to the heavy rain that fell across parts of SouthernCaliforniaandNevadalast week, which was somewhat enhanced by the moisture from the remnants ofTropical Storm Juliette. Phoenix also saw a massive dust storm last week, known as ahaboob, which is caused by the monsoon weather pattern. San Diego Sees Rare August Rain As Remnants Of Tropical Storm Juliette Funnel Moisture Into West, Southwest The Eastern Pacific Basin has already had an active start to the season, producing 10 named storms so far, five of them hurricanes, including three that reachedCategory 3strength or higher. Bryan Norcross: Computer Forecasts Show The Atlantic Disturbance Developing This Week Elsewhere in the Pacific Basin, Hurricane Kiko, which also formed Wednesday morning, is moving into the Central Pacific Ocean in the general direction ofHawaii. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 to Nov. 30. Original article source:Tropical Storm Lorena forms in Pacific and could impact Southwest US, Baja California
