Atmosphere Comparison

[Jim]

The endless chatter of weather.

[Jim]

We've had some snow up here for the last few days, and with nearly an inch of precipitation so far from these storms this is the wettest March since 2006. The second wettest was 2007 when we had 0.51' of mostly rain. We should have well over an inch by the time the snow stops. Things are looking up after all.

[chumley]

Still hope for some more tomorrow too (though it may stay a little farther north). And it appears as though this pattern is holding on into the foreseeable future.

I'll take a 4-8" storm every few days for a couple weeks!

[Jim]

No, there is a ridge that will build later in the week. They are unsure about the weekend, but they are still calling for sun. This is all going to move out, for a little while anyway, by Thursday.

[azbackpackr]

It's COLD! Starting to snow a bit although I think the hills near here will get a lot more than our valley. Lotta wind, too.

[Jim]

Today's Snowbowl snow report:

Snow in the last 24 hours: 11-18"
Snow in the past 7 days: 21-38"
Settled snow depth: 68-112"
Season to date snowfall: 306"

It sure has been a good winter. Really makes me wish I skied. If not to do it at Snowbowl, then to ski the back country from the Peak to the Cirque and everywhere in between. We're doing well in town, too. We're up to 135" of snow this season, and we're back to being above normal in all precipitation fields except the total since September 1, 2009, on which we are only 0.27" below the 30 year mean.

[azbackpackr]

And you don't ski because........?????

I really want to switch over to backcountry skis. A friend of mine has a pair of Fischers, I think they are, Outback or some such name. Anyway, his boots are heftier, and different type of bindings, he can go uphill and down hill and do turns and everything. He can even use them at Sunrise. But they are cross country skis. He sent me the info, I just don't have the moola.

[Jim]

I don't ski because I have flat feet and can't gain any control to steer through heal pronation as is normally done in ski boots. Why you ask? Because, a flat foot is basically one which has it's heal completely pronated, or rolled out, below the subtalar joint, so you can't pronate further to steer in a ski boot. Plus, there is the money involved to ski, and I don't have that money to drop on equipment and or lift or season passes. If I was any good I would probably put away the snow shoes and backcountry ski all winter long. I tried to cross country a few years back, but as with all mutants or retards like myself who have flat feet, I rolled my foot inwards and was unstable in the ski. When I tried to learn to downhill I had no control because they teach to steer by rotating and pronating the foot and heal, something which I am incapable of doing. I had heard that inserts can fix this, but I haven't bothered to try them in a ski boot yet. They are pretty expensive and don't hold up to moisture at all, so I am not sticking them in any strange boots anytime soon. I have also heard that a custom boot can be made, and if I get money in the future, I would like to try that. Nothing makes winter fun like spending it in snow having fun.

[The_Eagle]

In response to Joad Cressbeckler:
Joad... I wish I'd seen your video a long time ago... You Da Man

[Ckzona]

All i can say is thank you elnino. And if snowbowl is at 306in i imagine that sunrise has a little bit more maybe like 320 or 330in. I also find it really cool because that amount of snow is more than what states like colorado get in an average year like vail or keystone.

[azbackpackr]

It's snowing as we speak at Sunrise, but not over here in Round Valley! We got a couple inches down here, it's mostly melted off now. I still have a pile of ugly hard snow in front of my house that has been there all winter. And my son was telling me he is mowing his friend's lawn in Tempe this weekend. A lawn? What's a lawn? We just have mud!

[imike]

snowed yesterday in Cloudcroft... been snowing every few days up there. The year I move off the mountain they finally have a real winter. Not sure if I was lucky or not on that issue.

[chumley]

Statewide snow totals are as impressive as I've ever seen them (across the board). I've seen higher amounts in the whites before (Baldy, Hannagan), but never the consistent 3+ feet amounts out across so many spots.

I'm still amazed at the 80 inches at Promontory ... the station is on FR300 right at the Bear Canyon Lake turnoff. That's a ton of snow on the ground.

I hope it melts very slowly. I'd like to see some of the sheltered spots on the rim still have some leftovers on Memorial Day.

[tibber]

Reporting from N Phx: a little more than 3/4 inch on my rain gauge from the last storms.

[Jim]

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
313 PM MST SUN MAR 14 2010

...SPRING OR VERNAL EQUINOX IS SATURDAY MARCH 20TH AT 1032 AM MST...

THE SUN WILL BE DIRECTLY OVER THE EQUATOR AT 1032 AM MST SATURDAY
MARCH 20TH...AS IT MARKS THE HALFWAY POINT OF ITS SIX-MONTH JOURNEY
NORTHWARD. THIS CROSSING OF THE SUN DIRECTLY OVER THE EQUATOR IS
KNOWN AS THE VERNAL EQUINOX. THE SUN WILL CONTINUE ITS NORTHWARD
JOURNEY UNTIL THE SUMMER SOLSTICE ON JUNE 21ST.

THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN DAYS AND NIGHTS ARE NEAR EQUAL LENGTH.
THIS IS ALSO THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN THE SUN RISES DIRECTLY IN THE EAST
AND SETS DIRECTLY IN THE WEST.

Whelp, winter is just about over and there is nothing significant in the forecast for the next week. Yesterday, I did what I consider to be my last hike on the Peaks of the winter and I probably won't go back up until the snow is melted off late this spring or early summer. It's spring, and while it might be nice everywhere else, its the worst season in Flagstaff. Basically, it's the wind. Still, before I change this thread back to it's monsoon title, we still have about a month where we can get a good spring storm with what can be a wet snow. Hopefully, we've got at least one good storm coming our way with better than a foot of heavy snow. Besides, even if you hate snow, this time of year it melts so fast it's like it was never there.

[PaleoRob]

South of Flag there are little creeks and rushing rivers in every little drainage and meadow. If you're in the area I say to check it out. Amazing!

[Jim]

The water is roaring coming of the plateau. Oak, Sycamore, Pumphouse, and many of the other creeks are quite high. Encinosa Falls was running well on Wednesday, and in general things are looking quite good for continued melt off. My Agassiz pics show lots of snow to the south, so things will be running for a while.

[azbackpackr]

Raining here, snowing in Greer. I'm going skiing tomorrow! A last hurrah on the long skinny boards, and then they will be put away until next year!

[Jim]

Hey, Phoenix gets 52/100s of an inch of rain and Flagstaff gets nothing. Whats with that?

Winter is over and I think we aren't going to get any more real or significant snow events in Flagstaff, so I changed the name. Next up, the 2010 Monsoon Thread!!

[chumley]

I had .92 at my house. Was a really nice few hours of drifting in and out of sleep listening to the rain with the window open this morning.

And I'm still holding out hope for a spring snowstorm up north.

[azbackpackr]

What do do with all the precipitation:

Sunrise Ski Area set to close April 4th, but not for lack of snow! It is because they have to have a certain number of clientele in order to make a profit, and the numbers have dropped.

We had a little spring snow yesterday, the kind that melts as it's falling. I plan on getting my very first downhill ski lesson at Sunrise tomorrow, or maybe today. Birthday present to myself. I'm 57, and don't want to live out my life never having tried Alpine skiing! Of course, I will probably like it so much I will then have to buy the gear and the season pass, etc.

I expect I will be able to cross country ski somewhere on this mountain until late April. There is so much snow in the high country I don't expect the roads to open very soon, either.

One thing about all this precipitation, I have mentioned elsewhere: First we ski on it, then we ride down the rivers on it! I feel bad missing out on so many great river trips this spring, that I have heard about, on the San Francisco and upper Gila, for example. We don't have a spring like this one more than once every few years, from a river runner's perspective. I am just glad I will get to do the one commercial rafting trip on the Salt. I just don't have the time or the money to be running all over the state. I want to be moving in the direction of advanced hardshell kayaking lessons (kayak school at Lake Mead my first choice) and also maybe get an inflatable kayak/rubber ducky, which are safer and easier for beginners to learn on. I've done the recreational flatwater kayaking, it's fun, now want to try for some whitewater. Those lessons at Lake Mead are also translatable for sea kayak touring, since in the advanced sea kayaks you do need to know how to roll, brace, etc.