An atmospheric river referred to as the "pineapple express" slammed parts of the Desert Southwest and Southern California, just over a week after destructive flooding plagued parts of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

These atmospheric rivers often fuel heavy rain events in the West, especially in a stronger El Niño winter.

(COMPLETE COVERAGE: Super El Niño of 2026-27)

Weather in your inbox

Forecast Location

Sign Up

By signing up you agree to the Terms & Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe at any time.

Heavy rainfall brings evacuations, closures

Most of the heaviest rain fell across Arizona, but all states in the Four Corners region saw flooding. Mandatory evacuations were issued in parts of Sedona, Arizona, near Oak Creek, as well as Pagosa Springs and Durango, Colorado.

The San Juan River was set to crest two feet higher in Pagosa Springs than a previous flood in 1911, which wiped out Pagosa according to the local Sheriff's Office. This evacuation order was the second in a week.

Get More of Our News on Google

Set The Weather Company as a 'Preferred Source' to get quicker access to the news you value.

Multiple river gauges across the Southwest reached major flood stage.

According to the National Weather Service in Flagstaff, Arizona, rivers such as the Little Colorado and Verde, could run high for days after this weekend's latest soaking.

Outside Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, in Flagstaff, people filled plastic bags with sand to try to prevent further flooding inside. Luke Willson said water got into the garage, the basement and underneath the church building, as well as in an office where the computers are. “The pumps are pumping, but they’re not pumping fast enough,” he said.

To the southeast, in the Pinetop-Lakeside area of central Arizona, “manhole covers are popping up all over” and residents reported sewage backing up into homes because of flooding, the region's sanitary district said in a statement.

Widespread rainfall of 2-6 inches has been reported across the region.

Below are some notable totals per state:
Crown King, Arizona: 6.21 inches; Flagstaff: 3.42 inches

Lava Point, Utah: 3.77 inches

Sandoval, Colorado: 2.98 inches

Albino Canyon, New Mexico: 2.09 inches

Kyle Canyon, Nevada: 1.74 inches

Numerous flood reports of landslides, roads collapsing, swift water rescues and flooded homes have been reported. US Highway 64 was closed in both directions near Chama, New Mexico, due to extreme flooding.

An estimated 150-200 homes have been flooded in Rimrock, Arizona.

US-70 was closed at the New Mexico-Arizona border due to heavy rain and flooding.

There was even a landslide near Monticello Airport, Utah. US 191 was closed, with the Utah Department of Transportation reporting debris and flooding on the roadway.

The ground was still saturated from the 2 to 5 inches of rain that soaked the area last week, triggering major flash flooding in northern Arizona, New Mexico, southern Colorado and southern Utah. This combined with the overall soil type in the Southwest means flooding is easy, especially in slot canyons.

What fueled this soaking?

The culprit for this soaking was a southward plunge of the jet stream near the West Coast.

That jet stream pulled a ribbon of deep tropical moisture called an atmospheric river into the Southwest.

This particular atmospheric river tap originated near Hawaii, something meteorologists nickname the "pineapple express."

It wasn't a strong version of either an atmospheric river or pineapple express, but the moisture that fueled this heavy rain was earlier than usual.

This could be a harbinger, given the tendency for a wetter Southwest during most stronger El Niños from fall through spring.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.