Atmosphere Comparison

[Jim]

The endless chatter of weather.

[Ckzona]

azbackpackr what do you mean by sunrise gets more snow than elkridge and snowbowl put together. Elkridge gets like 150in a year and Arizona Snowbowl's average is 260in which is the same average of sunrise.

And Cathy Mocha Mount lemmon gets on average 180in of snow and has like 3lifts 20 runs. Is usually open between december and march on weekends snow permitting.

[Al_HikesAZ]

For that matter, San Francisco and Sacramento are not in 'northern California' either

What you talkin bout Willis? Even San Diego and El Cajon are in Northern California and Ensenada and La Paz are in Southern California. Just depends on where you draw the line.

[azbackpackr]

I love maps...!

Weren't we talking about a safe subject on this thread, though--the weather?

It warmed up enough today to melt a little of the hard ice that has remained all over the sidewalks, etc., except in shady areas, where it is still very slippery. Think "Nancy Kerrigan!" I slipped on ice at work a few weeks back, hit my wrist on the ground, and they made me fill out a 3-page incident report.

I wonder if we will actually get the second storm? It was supposed to have been here already! Any precip around the rest of the state?

[Jim]

I think your ideas about geographic regions are funny. To me, everything north of the Verde or the Rim is northern Arizona.

[PaleoRob]

For that matter, San Francisco and Sacramento are not in 'northern California' either

As someone who grew up just south of San Francisco, I disagree with that statement. First, I have no desire to be associated with anything to do with typical southern California (LA). Second of all, drawing a line halfway across California will end up with Suckramento and SF just north of that dividing line.

[azbackpackr]

Weren't we talking about the weather? ;)

The old fight between northern and southern Calif--which one is better and so forth--is sort of funny to me now, since I haven't lived in CA for 31 years.

Over the past 31 years, I have met hundreds of people from the LA metro area. They invariably say they are from "Southern California." This term is always code for LA metro, because if they were from San Diego, as I am, they would say so! We San Diegans are proud of our beautiful city. But San Diego is 120 miles south of LA, so technically it's more SoCal than LA is!

When I was growing up, the demographics of San Diego were much different than they are now. It was a mellow town, not much of a rat race, pretty conservative, pretty laid-back and polite. Population well under a million--about the size of Tucson. Although not particularly hip or cool, it was a town to be proud of, and although I loved the Bay Area, it used to rankle me a bit to go up there and have San Diego lumped in with LA. I'd tell them that it was a 2 and a half hour drive to LA from my house, and they'd say they thought it was all part of the same place. Grrr!

[hippiepunkpirate]

I think your ideas about geographic regions are funny. To me, everything north of the Verde or the Rim is northern Arizona.

I agree.

[PaleoRob]

Light dusting of snow here in Page!

As an aside, I think that "northern" Arizona being used for areas above the rim comes back to the old "north=up" thing. If you're going north, you're going up on a map. I think that works in reverse too - if you're going up in elevation, you've got to be going north, right? ;)

[JimmyLyding]

Pretty soon this thread will start discussing the best Mexican food restaurants in Globe.
Being born-and-raised in the Valley I always considered "Northern" Arizona to be anywhere north of Cordes Junction. Southern Arizona has always been considered to be anywhere south of of Casa Grande. Eastern Arizona is anywhere within 50 miles of the Arizona-New Mexico border, but only in the White Mountains area. Western Arizona is anywhere within an hour of the Colorado River.
Who really cares? Even many of the counties in our fair state are larger than some eastern states, and encompass a wide variety of terrain.
BTW Mount Lemmon ski area is open during on weekdays rather than just on weekends. Weekdays are the best days to go, but it's not as I ever played Ferris from work to go skiing when I lived in Tucson

[chumley]

I think that "northern" Arizona being used for areas above the rim comes back to the old "north=up" thing. If you're going north, you're going up on a map. I think that works in reverse too - if you're going up in elevation, you've got to be going north, right? ;)

Love when people from PHX say they're going down to Tucson. No, actually, you're going up to Tucson.
I'm guessing people from Page go down to Flagstaff?

[PaleoRob]

Absolutely. Then we go back up to Page.

[azbackpackr]

In Hawaii, the entire Northern Hemisphere is referred to by locals as "the Mainland." After living there for years, we decided to move back to the Mainland, so we got all sorts of amusing comments from locals we knew, none of whom had ever left Hawaii, some having never left the Big Island...

"Oooh da Mainland? Oooo, real cold all time, eh?"
"Oooo, da Mainland? Lotta dose, da kine drive by shootings, eh?"
"Da Mainland? Oooh, you no want to go dere! Snow all time!"

And my personal favorite:
"I never go dere but if I go, I want to go with someone who knows da area."

[JimmyLyding]

"You goin' holo holo on da Mainland, haole? Say hullo to my little bruddah June-yah. Ah, komo hale, still look fuh June-yah"

[azbackpackr]

I stay holoholo 23 years! ;)

So, now, what about this storm that never has showed up? Is it stalled for dinner in Globe?

The forecast says there are a couple of weak little storms, then a bigger one at the end of the weekend? That does not make sense since it is already Friday night, with no flakes or drips in sight...

[chumley]

Elizabeth the first two waves (today and the tomorrow) were more northerly. The most precip was slated for the kaibab plateau. The white mtns tend to miss out on those. Sunday they're calling for 2-4 inches but the computer models don't agree so they don't have a very confident forecast on that yet anyway.

[PaleoRob]

A little bit more snow overnight, but nothing to take pictures of in the yard, really. Just a dusting.

[Sredfield]

Earlier this fall several residents of the Big Rez asked the tribal leadership about the coming winter, would it be be cold or mild.

Current leadership is pretty sophisticated, having grown up in a more or less in a modern society, and they weren't all that well versed in the old ways. Looking at the sky, it wasnt' clear what the winter was going to be like.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, leadership tresponded that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that everyone should collect firewood to be prepared.

But, being practical, after several days, the leadership called the National Weather Service and asked, 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'

'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the word went out that everyone should collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.

A week later, doubting the response from the National Weather Service, they again asked, 'Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?'

'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'it's going to be a very cold winter.'

With this confirmation, the leadership committee again advised that everyone collect every scrap of firewood they could find.

Still a bit puzzled evidencing some doubt based on passed missed forecasts from the government weather service, a staffer in the leadership office called the National Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?'

'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.'

'How can you be so sure?' the staffer asked.

The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy.'

[Sun_Ray]

I know that Rob did not mention Page in the text but if he had, what do you all think of move to add blog notes to Google type searches? If and when this happens if someone gets up in the morning and comments on the weather in their area we would know immediately by searching "current weather in Page". I'm for it, but wonder if there will be pages and pages of these comments.

[cathymocha]

The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy.
Love it. ;)

Yummy...Mt Lemon, hot chocolate and great chili.

[azbackpackr]

Great Lemonade, too! ;)

I'm cleaning my garage today--it's definitely pretty mild! On my front porch the thermometer reads 38 right now at 10:20 a.m. and it feels even nicer in the sun! ;)

Actually, to me, it does feel very, very mild. That raise in temp usually means a storm is coming. All the ice is melting on my patio. This is a good thing, because I have to pass through there with all the junk I'm hauling out of the garage to either burn or give to the Humane Soc. thrift store, or the Catholic one. (I'll donate to both. To heck with yard sales--too much work and up here you have to wait until May to have one or no one will show up.) Anyone want 1,000 old paperback books, beading supplies, a kids' rock collection, a bunch of old bicycles, or an excercycle I got for free?