1st tropical depression of 2025 season forms in eastern Pacific
The first tropical depression of 2025 has taken shape over the eastern Pacific Ocean, and will soon threaten land with wind, rain and pounding surf.
Long before the depression formed, AccuWeather meteorologists were monitoring the Pacific and dubbed a batch of gathering showers and thunderstorms a tropical rainstorm. That area of concern evolved into Tropical Depression One on Wednesday afternoon. Winds are currently 35 mph.
While the depression was struggling with pockets of dry air about its center at midweek, it did have some favorable conditions higher up in the atmosphere, which allowed it to strengthen and become organized.
Should the depression continue to organize and become a tropical storm, it will be named Alvin.
AccuWeather's team of meteorologists expects the system to peak as a strong tropical storm, but there is a chance it briefly reaches hurricane intensity as it takes a northward path off the coast of Mexico. A tropical storm has sustained winds ranging from 39-73 mph. Hurricane-force winds begin at 74 mph.
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Since the storm is spread out, showers and thunderstorms will reach portions of the west-central coast of Mexico. A few inches of rain can pour down in some areas, leading to flash flooding and mudslides.
As the storm moves over progressively colder waters near the Baja Peninsula, it should lose strength quickly, become a tropical rainstorm or possibly become unrecognizable before moving over land in northwestern Mexico.
Some moisture from the storm is likely to be drawn up over the Sierra Madre and may reach into parts of Texas and New Mexico by early next week. That moisture will coalesce with surging moisture from the Gulf and also from Pacific waters near California.
"Showers and thunderstorms will likely become more prolific over the interior western United States next week and could escalate to the point of triggering rapid and dangerous flooding problems when combined with high country snow melt in parts of the Rockies," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
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