HikeArizona.COM

The endless chatter of weather.

big_load wrote:It's hard to fathom. We had snow again in NJ this morning. March was almost uniformly 10F below average, and April is closer to 20F too cool. It may hit the 70s this weekend, though.
ETA: Now they're saying we could hit 80. It doesn't seem real. We've barely cleared 45 so far.

It's been a crazy few days in NW NJ. The high Saturday was 82F. The high Sunday was 37F. There was ice on the roads early Monday morning before a 4" downpour with tropical storm-force winds and temps increasing to 60F. It's in the mid to upper 30s right now, about 20 degrees too cool again. Big swings like that are much harder to achieve in more humid air. We only see them once or twice a year, and they usually involve big winds moving in an entirely different air mass.

Jim_H wrote:Is it me

With 347 forum mentions of the word "wind", and 104 "windy" -- it's at least mostly you.

My perception of it may be, but the weather seems windier this spring, and way worse, than the last 2 or 3 springs. It's ending up that summer is the only time it is consistently nice here, since I like the heat. No allergies then, no extreme winds aside from a few hours if you get a habooob, and no weeks of toxic inversions like we're in Beijing. Long days, too.

Think this spring has been a bit worse. Really tough for me to sit on the sidelines when the temps are perfect but the air quality sucks. Broke down to see an allergist last year and was told to pay heed to the air quality website and curtail any outdoor activities from now on.

@SpiderLegs
Starts to defeat the purpose of living here. I have have really bad ear swelling since Friday after the last dust storm. I do not know if it is related, or something else, but my allergy meds aren't working. Neither is being in A/C all the time.

@Jim_H - Should have been a bit more clear. Curtail outdoor activities when the pollution count is high. This morning for example the PM10 counts (bigger particles like dust & pollen) were off the charts because of the wind. So stayed indoors and will keep my fingers crossed it's better tomorrow morning.

But one reason I'm glad to be moving to Tucson this summer. I've been comparing and contrasting the air quality reports for both cities and Tucson is rarely in the danger zone.

big_load wrote:It's been a crazy few days in NW NJ. The high Saturday was 82F. The high Sunday was 37F. There was ice on the roads early Monday morning before a 4" downpour with tropical storm-force winds and temps increasing to 60F. It's in the mid to upper 30s right now, about 20 degrees too cool again. Big swings like that are much harder to achieve in more humid air. We only see them once or twice a year, and they usually involve big winds moving in an entirely different air mass.

Oh no! It snowed today on the way home from work. It didn't stick, but really, that's just rude. I've always considered 4/15 the last possible date for snow. This is the latest I can remember in the 30 years I've lived here. I'm looking forward to some southwestern sun before it gets too late.

@big_load
It's never too late for SW sun!

Spring time in the Mountains. 4” overnight.

The ozone level is so high in Phoenix today and tomorrow that even going indoors to exercise is not a good idea. The pollution levels this year are out of control.

I’ve always gotten the impression that fire season severity is based more on spring rain than winter. Even a terrible winter offset by a couple of storms in April, May and June can go a long way to reduce the fire threat (especially in Ponderosa forests). There hasn’t been much this spring to alleviate the dry winter in the northern and eastern forests. Currently the forecast is calling for .25-.5” of rain/equivalent snow in some of those areas that really need it over the next couple of days. A storm like this, though statistically insignificant, can help delay fire starts by another week or two. And that could be very helpful. The forecast models have been trending wetter. I hope that trend continues.

62/100ths of an inch of rain and snow mix today at Flagstaff. That ought to green things up and lower fire danger for a while.

It's been partly/mostly cloudy all day, and now it smells like rain at Roper! Dare we wish for an early monsoon?!

@cactuscat
The Chiricahuas received measurable rain yesterday and storms are firing in the southeast corner again today. That's promising and there have been rumblings among some forecasts I've read about both an early start and an above normal rainfall season. We shall see...

http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/p168i.gif?1431007963

I'm betting on the last week of June.

It rained 15 inches here in Flag. .
Droplets were 15 inches apart. ..

There is much talk of magic sky water by the end of the week. Certainly for the higher elevations the the east and south of central Arizona, but some models are pointing toward the lower deserts too. I keep seeing the word "monsoon" but this seems to be somewhat enhanced by a tropical system. Regardless, rain would be a welcome result.

South East of Apache Junction last week I heard cicadas, now if the monsoons would reply to their request.

If the forecast pans out might have to head down south to my favorite haunts to capture some flooding washes and highs in Nogales area projected to be under 80 degrees. We shall see!

RedRoxx44 wrote:If the forecast pans out

It seems like the hype and excitement currently exceeds the actual forecast by a long shot. A little bit of rain will be nice to see, but I don't think there will be a whole lot of washes running. Though the southern and southeastern border zones are probably going to have the best chance for it