Atmosphere Comparison

[Jim]

The endless chatter of weather.

[Jim]

Been real dry, too. Dry up here at altitude, and in Tucson, on the down low. Currently we have identical -4 dewpoints.
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/images/twc/misc ... AprMay.png

[hippiepunkpirate]

Being that today is pleasantly NOT windy, and I finally got on an anti-biotic regimen which is rapidly annihilating my lingering my sinus infection, I may have to get out onto the Fat Man today after work.

[Jim]

Your sinuses are bad, too, what are you on? Not that placebo amoxicillen, I hope?

[hippiepunkpirate]

Your sinuses are bad, too, what are you on? Not that placebo amoxicillen, I hope?

No, I can't remember the actual name of the drug, but the prescription is always written up as "z-pak"

[Jim]

azithromycin, probably.

[hippiepunkpirate]

azithromycin, probably.

Yeah, that sounds right

[Jim]

No wind, so the state is burning 200 acres out by Woody Mt, but no Federal Burns today. No wind! What a spring treat!

[hippiepunkpirate]

but no Federal Burns today

Slackers! (myself included)

[Jim]

Government waste run amok. Privatize it all, and turn it over to Donald Trump to run into the ground like every other business he destroys.

[Jim]

Awesome weather in Flag today, 73 degrees with 16% humidity in my apartment. Thats 2 degrees warmer with twice the humidity of the airport.

[Jim]

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/abq/cli/ ... 110411.gif
http://www.srh.weather.gov/images/abq/c ... 100411.gif

Both of the above links, which open in a new window unless told to open in a new tab, are from the ABQ NWS office and show just how dry it has been in NM this year. If they expanded to AZ, parts of CO and TX, it would be quite bad in other areas, too. There are wet years and there are dry years, but this seems to be pretty exceptional for the southern part of the state, and the SE part of AZ. I tried to find a link to a local Flagstaff Daily Sun article about a prediction that the recent decade's dry springs, later monsoons, and then more intense monsoon, how they are supposed to be linked to a climate pattern shift. Like how I didn't say global warming or climate change? Just about everywhere in the west this year is normal or above normal and in some places, well above normal for winter precipitation. Just not AZ, NM, or TX. It was an La Nina.

[joebartels]

The two links are identical. Looks like a terrain map, the precipitation enjoys high country.

[Jim]

Thanks, I fixed that. Yup, the water likes to fall where it is high. The San Juans in CO were lower than normal, but recently they have picked up more water again. I thought I might go up there this June to do a traverse between two high peaks. I saw a trip report for one and there is a ton of snow. June is too early.

[hippiepunkpirate]

Looks like a terrain map, the precipitation enjoys high country.

Yup, the water likes to fall where it is high.

Orographic uplift. Anyone care to discuss wet and dry adiabatic rates?

[Jim]

I find it interesting that similarly prominent ranges don't have the same precipitation patterns. Sometimes due to rain shadows and sometimes due to the size of the area over a certain elevation. Sort of the way the Pusch ridge is relatively dry when a similarly elevated Granite mountain is wetter.

[hippiepunkpirate]

@Jim_H
You mentioned rain shadow without the determining factor for a rain shadow: wind direction. What is the predominant wind direction for the Tucson area?

[azbackpackr]

WNW, as I recall.

[hippiepunkpirate]

WNW, as I recall.

Assuming that would be "from" the WNW, I wouldn't expect Pusch Ridge to receive a great deal of rainshadow, but perhaps the Tortolita Range is a moisture thief.

[chumley]

Nice to see a dusting of snow at the Nordic Center earlier today. Yay May 10th!

[Jim]

Woke up to a nice fresh layer of snow above 11,000' on the Peaks, today. Mostly gone now, but it makes them look a lot nicer.