Atmosphere Comparison

[Jim]

The endless chatter of weather.

[big_load]

Ironically, our water company just got power restored late last week, so we're finally off the boil water alert.

[chumley]

.20" after the late storms came through. That brings my paltry monsoon totals to just over half an inch.

[BEEBEE]

I am right near Usery in the Shadow of Pass Mountain we have been getting some decent rain the last few nights.

[Jim]

We're up to 2.87" for just the month. September is already wetter than August and a lot wetter than July. Given the first half of the year, it's our wettest month so far. I see Flag going over 3" for the month, given the forecast for more severe storms today. So much for a dry September and an early frost. The last half of August was so miss-leading, but this isn't really normal monsoon activity, either.

[BEEBEE]

Still not enough to see the wash that runs through my property flowing, but I am deffinetly enjoying the rain. Looks like we were just short of an inch last night

[azbackpackr]

That's good news for the desert!

[Jim]

Heavy rain and light hail this afternoon around 3. We're up to 3.33" of rain for the month, and that should make this our wettest month so far this year. We have actually had so much rain in the last 6 days, that we are now well over for the month, and less than 3/4 of an inch below mean for the calendar year. Impressive give the way things were going just 3 weeks ago. Even SE AZ picked up a lot and is now almost normal for the season in many locales.

[kingsnake]

I'm seriously jealous. Sounds like when I used to live in Wisconsin ...

[Jim]

Well, I guess when you haven't had rain in months, it sounds great, but I'd really like a dry out. Being from NJ, I don't particularly enjoy rain, or moisture.

[Jim]

2011 weather just gets odder. For Tucson:

...RECORD RAINFALL IN TUCSON...

AS OF 430 PM...2.84 INCHES OF RAIN HAVE FALLEN AT THE TUCSON
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TODAY. THIS IS A RECORD AMOUNT OF RAIN
FOR SEPTEMBER 15TH.

THIS IS ALSO THE SECOND WETTEST SEPTEMBER DAY ON RECORD. THE
WETTEST SEPTEMBER DAY ON RECORD WAS SEPTEMBER 10TH 1964 WHEN 2.85
INCHES OF RAIN FELL.

THIS IS THE FIFTH WETTEST DAY OF ALL TIME IN TUCSON.

HERE ARE THE TOP FIVE...

1. 3.93 INCHES JULY 29TH 1958
2. 2.96 INCHES OCTOBER 1ST 1983
3. 2.88 INCHES AUGUST 1ST 1935
4. 2.85 INCHES SEPTEMBER 10TH 1964
5. 2.84 INCHES SEPTEMBER 15TH 2011

AS OF THIS TIME THE 5.57 INCHES OF RAIN SO FAR THIS MONTH MAKE IT
THE WETTEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD...BREAKING THE OLD RECORD OF 5.11
INCHES IN 1964.

THE MONSOON TOTAL OF 8.59 INCHES SINCE JUNE 15TH RANKS AS THE TENTH
WETTEST MONSOON ON RECORD. THE WETTEST MONSOON ON RECORD WAS ALSO
IN 1964 WITH 13.84 INCHES OF RAIN BETWEEN JUNE 15 AND SEPTEMBER 30.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/ ... WC&pil=PNS

I thought it was wet in Flagstaff. Well, it is wet, but it's more of an overcast foggy day wet, not humungous rainfall. Who would have thought things would have seemed so bleak just 10 days ago.

[chumley]

I doubt anyone is complaining but I was looking at the % of normal for the last 60, 90, and 180 days as well as the rain year and for the most part the whole state is below 90% of normal with a whole lot below 75%.

I wonder if there are any good resources that can show rainfall in the state that is actually retained? Obviously, five weeks with one inch each week is totally different from one week with five inches.

Though it seems the most common rain events in AZ are large quantities over a short timeframe.

[Jim]

Our soil is so shallow, that only in rare areas can more than an inch or two actually soak in. That is generally why snow melt is considered better for aquifer recharge. If the rain comes gradually, it probably gets into the rock after saturated soil receives more rain, but heavy fast rains just run into washes. However, washes run to the Colorado or another river, and other than large silt loads, water is water, and it goes to a reservoir at some point. If it doesn't it gets into the soil in the wash where it can support vegetation there. Most places around Flag seem to have maybe 2 to 3 feet of soil, tops, before the bed rock is reached, and most of the actual soil is really rocky. Often, it's less than 2 feet. The one really good thing about the last 8 days, is the recurrent nature of the storms. It came hard at times, but we had numerous storms. The variable nature of thunderstorms does mean that some places in the Flagstaff area may be severely down for the year, but we're doing rather well now in town. It might be nice if it came in July instead of later, but it is still growing season water.


We have big puddles in areas that normally are wet in rainy periods, but it hasn't been quite like this for some time. Things will be moist for a while in these parts, but with a month of no rain and normal conditions, it will dry out. The grass and trees will suck it up and transpire it as long as we stay mild and sunny.

I wonder about the run-off from rains like yesterdays big dump in Tucson, or some of the other ones this last week and over the summer in the mountains and over the city and deserts. For the most part, around Flagstaff, the big wash is the Rio De Flag, which goes through several broad grassy areas and man made lakes before it would reach the Little Colorado, so a lot might either just evaporate and some may soak in to the ground. Down there, it runs off, and fast, but to where? Does it reach the Gila River, or just soak into the Santa Cruz river bed?

[Jim]

Look at that, Colorado already had a decent snow.

Looks like maybe 6 inches of wet snow.

[chumley]

Radar has been showing snow in the San Juans for the past week. I expect that many elevations above 10k got some accumulations.

Nice snow in the mtns above Telluride yesterday:

[Jim]

Looking at the Pikes Peak cam with the tourists in coats is funny and makes me laugh, but sad because it makes it look like not only is summer over, but winter is here. I still want to do one peak this year that is over 4000 meters, and before winter comes in. I think I can.

Flag's official low last night was 38 degrees. We haven't been this cold since early July when we had that freak low of 37. Forecast for 36 tonight. I expect frosts and freezes in some isolated valleys and higher terrain. Color may begin to show on the Peaks and Elden by weeks end, if we start getting cold consistently. Autumn starts Friday, but we're already there.

[azbackpackr]

[quote="chumley"]Radar has been showing snow in the San Juans for the past week. I expect that many elevations above 10k got some accumulations.
Nice snow in the mtns above Telluride yesterday.

"Nice?" Ugh. I like it only after it melts and runs down the rivers. I used to like cross country skiing, but went only twice last year. I would rather spend my winters hiking/climbing/biking in the desert...or at the beach, in a tropical country.

In fact, you may find me posting from Costa Rica in February. Stranger things have happened! ;)

[Jim]

Autumn officially begins at 2:05 AM MST on Friday. We've got some color around town in grasses, honey locusts, and in the exotic sumac, plus pines are starting to lose their oldest leaves. This is despite the recent heavy rains, so it is obviously an indication of the season change.

Is monsoon season over for practical purposes? How about in non-desert areas? Is it time to change the thread title to something more appropriate?

[chumley]

The desert heat lingers and the forecast is still holding on to the possibility of showers over the higher elevations, especially in eastern Arizona, so it seems that the monsoonal flow is still hanging on. Practical purposes, official purposes? I don't even know anymore. But I know that when the wind blows in the morning it is noticeably cooler and for that I'm

[big_load]

Autumn is coming early to NJ. I don't recall ever seeing such a widespread color change in mid-September.

[kingsnake]

I was in northwest CT this week a few years back. The day I arrived, the trees were all green. When I left three days later, they were all orange.