Atmosphere Comparison

[Jim]

The endless chatter of weather.

[outdoor_lover]

28 degrees in Scottsdale. Forgot to shut the water off to the Evap on the roof...Got a nice reminder this morning....Got my AEG for the day....

[Jim]

My subaru took a good 5 minutes to warm up this morning, she didn't want to move! I should've gone back to sleep, work is over rated anyway the pipes were frozen at work earlier by the way....what state are we in again?

Well, I don't know why the pipes froze, don't they insulation at all? It isn't like Phoenix never gets to below freezing.

I'm reminded of the many, many cold spells I lived through in Flagstaff. I was no stranger to negative lows. Minus 1, -9, -5, -15, many other non-memorable negative ones, and then the coldest I ever experienced: -19. I remember that one fondly, or not, as the time I went outside (though it had officially warmed to -18 by that time) and found ice on the railing above my apartment hot tub, and when I removed my ungloved hand from my coat pocket, the evaporating sweat caused a burning sensation from the rapid cooling in the already cold air. Good times, good times. No, wait. Well, I did have a very memorable and pleasant Humphrey summit that day. New Year's Day 2011. I got up there around 4 PM, and had fun being buzzed by a small plane while on the summit. I really miss Humphrey, especially in winter.

Anyway, interestingly, the only time my pipes ever froze in my apartment was in early February of 2011, and it wasn't really all that cold. The low was only -1, far "milder" than numerous other cold mornings, but it was unusually windy for being so cold. Normally, to get much below +10 in Flagstaff, it had to be calm and clear, so radiational cooling could take effect and temps could drop. This air mass was so cold, that it was -1, but very windy as the cold front continued to pass. Air moved around in the attic above my unit, and the water line to the bathroom froze. No water at all. It never did that before, even when 18 degrees colder. I don't know if it has since done that.

[Hippy]

Well, I don't know why the pipes froze, don't they insulation at all? It isn't like Phoenix never gets to below freezing.

don't look at me I just work here

i've never dealt with frozen pipes or anything like that, but having to wear gloves to drive in summer AND winter...ridiculous. This is seriously the chilliest winter I can recall here in Phoenix, but I'm also outside a LOT more than I was back in the day...brrrr!

[azbackpackr]

0 degrees at my house at 8 a.m. this morning. I have decided I really have to get some daily exercise, anyway, so I bundled up with long underwear, etc., and walked to Bashas' to shop, stopping on the way into the ski/bicycle shop to warm up and visit with the employees (all friends of mine, of course). After walking back home and having breakfast, I walked to the library with my laptop in a backpack. Of course, all this added up to only a little over a mile of walking.

It's starting to cloud up again, after a sunny early morning, and the forecast is calling for a high of 22 with a slight chance of snow showers, no accumulation. Brr! But I hope to find time to do a bit more walking.

[Jim]

I remember going outside, just to get out, while I lived in Flag and it had been a few days of being trapped inside due to a storm. I remember fondly walking on a freshly plowed parking lot, the dense packed snow underfoot, the creaky, crunchy sound it made as I walked on it. Not at all like being on powder or new snow, and it has good traction, too, unless over ice. Cold, dry, still air, near perfect silence broken only by the sound of walking on packed, plowed snow. Throw in a cold, almost dim sun rising, and I could practically be back at my place in Flagstaff 2 years ago. I didn't have that in Kayenta, as even though we had a few storms, with accumulating snow, the stuff never got plowed, just packed down, and it warmed up there so it melted once the sun came out. Funny, but in that way, the 1300' of elevation difference did matter, or seemed to make a difference. Also, last winter was very mild, so I guess what we had melted fast. 2010 was a cold, wet one, and people were telling me that roads which were not plowed had snow on them for weeks, so that winter was probably very "Flagstaff like". Good thing I am not on the Rez, or the El Nino never materialized when I was there, as my civic wouldn't have done well in a place with no plows. I used to get stuck in 6 inches of snow.

[cactuscat]

-6 this morning. NBD.

[chumley]

Just got back from picketpost. Managed to drop to shorts and short sleeves during the climb despite the cool temps and snowy ground and iced over waterfalls. The pinals and Santa Teresa's were very well covered in snow from Thursday night. Lots of ice and some leftover snow on apache leap too. The low was 24.8 at my house overnight.

[rwstorm]

The low was 24.8 at my house overnight.

21.9 at my house in SW Tucson.

[azbackpackr]

I think we had a high of about that!

[Jim]

Cold and windy out on Ortega today. My hands were numb and stiff by the end of the hike.

[azbackpackr]

I'd go XC skiing, since I hear the snow is fine at Pole Knoll, but I need new tires AND it is below zero right now. I'm sure it would be even colder up there. Just doesn't appeal to me that much. The forecast for Wed. and Thurs. calls for sudden higher temps. So instead of 22 for a high, we'll have 40 on Wed. and 47 on Thurs. Sounds like Hawaii! Can't wait!

[Jim]

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/fgz/News/jan13_2013.png

Coldest stretch on average in 22 years. Been cold up there. 4 days, 3 nights in a row with negative lows and no highs over 24. Someone I know from Kayenta posted an image on a certain website which showed +1 degree this morning. I don't know if it was from Kayenta or near Navajo Mountain, where they are from, but either way it's cold.

[chumley]

I think the same is true for PHX. Though it may even be a longer stretch. I think I read 1983?

My house has been getting readings similar to the Chandler Airport, with lows of 24, 22, and 21 so far. Last night it hit 32 before 9pm and there was already ice in the park when I walked Kai at that time. That made for over 12 hours below freezing. Even covered, some of my plants aren't looking too good, and with two more freezing nights ahead, I'm sure to be doing some aggressive pruning this spring, and probably even a few replacements. Even the oleanders are looking pathetic (but I know for sure that they will recover just fine!)

[rwstorm]

It is a pretty impressive stretch cold temperatures for sure. Lows at my house the past three days have been: 22 on 12th, 20 on 13th, and 18 on 14th. About the same on duration at or below 32 degrees, around 12 hours last two nights. Lowest I have recorded in 33 years of record here is 16, so it's definitely noteworthy.

[azbackpackr]

For quite a few days it has been below zero in the very early mornings (minus 2 or 3 degrees) until this morning, when it was a balmy +3!

What is more, the forecast for Thursday and Friday has me getting out the lawn furniture: 47/14 and 49/15. I will actually feel comfortable going hiking in those temps, and probably in a t-shirt!

[Jim]

Probably making up for last winter's mild temperatures. I don't recall it being below zero at all last winter in Flagstaff. In fact, I recall it starting to moderate by about this time last winter.

[Dschur]

Payson had 10 on the 12th, 9 on the 13th.... Don't know the low this morning was 12 when we left but will drop a few degrees before the sun warms it up... and the high was 27-30 all weekend....

[chumley]

It looks like the mercury at PHX has peaked and is headed back down ... after a high of only 42 today. Even if it rebounds this afternoon, it looks like a lock for breaking the record low high of 46 for this date.

Only 5 other times since record-keeping began has it remained at 42 or below at PHX. Twice at 39, once at 41, and twice at 42. The most recent of which was 1949.

The station at the top of Aggasiz is looking to stay below zero all day today after balmy +1 highs the past two days.
FLG may top out at 15 after 22 and 21 Sat/Sun.
Falcon Field might not get above 39 and the top of South Mountain hasn't broken past 36.

That's pumpkin cold!

Meanwhile, it was 60 in Boston today...

[Dschur]

Talk about the opposite in Australia they even had to add a new color (colour) to the temp map for some new heat temps that they hadn't tracked before..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/0 ... 32896.html

[cactuscat]

Our low yesterday morning was -19.