by Jim_H » Sep 04 2010 4:21 pm
A redundant topic! Blasphemy!
I think it's over now, in fact, I think it was over sometime before I returned from my 3 week trip last Saturday. The weather last weekend was reminiscent of an early autumn storm. It was dry, cool, and windy. I guess we could get a resurgence, but the forecast through to the 11th is not indicating any monsoon surges into northern Arizona or Flagstaff, so I believe it is finished. I wish we would get some moisture before it gets cold (at night) and the summer growing season is over, but I doubt it will happen.
This was a weird monsoon season. It was late, and it was very strong when here. We had a couple of weeks of miserable overcast skies with heavy rain. So far, it has been the 6th wettest on record in Flagstaff, yet is has been very dry as well. For the last couple of weeks the area around town has seen next to no rain, and the grasses and sensitive plants are showing the moisture stress. The last few days feel like late June. It's great weather for sure, but it isn't how I recall the normal monsoon seasons of 2006, 2007, and 2008 ending. Even last years exceptionally dry monsoon-or failure there of-had a wet Labor Day period. Imike did Humphrey right before we got some strong storms on the Peaks.
Funny thing about 2010. This is the wettest year I have experienced since I moved here just over 4 years ago, yet it has been very dry when it wasn't snowing or raining. It was odd that we basically had two wet periods: January when we had the series of storms come through, and then late July and early August. Outside of those two it hasn't really done much. I think we're headed into the dry season. I just hope we get a better than average December snow start to winter before I leave.
I think Monsoon season will begin around June 20, plus or minus 5 days, not by the calendar according to the NWS, but when dew points rise dramatically, and it begins to rain over the Sacramento Mountains. It will start about 10 days later in Arizona.