HikeArizona.COM

The endless chatter of weather.

@Jim_H
I'm guessing SoCal and central and northern Arizona will do just fine. This is not an exceptionally cold system, so rain will probably be the dominant feature below 6-7000 feet. Who cares? Just bring it on!

I agree, at this point, rain is better than nothing, but I am surprised that it isn't going to be as strong for SE AZ as thought. Maybe, with the track, it never really was going to be?

rwstorm wrote:@Jim_H
I'm guessing SoCal and central and northern Arizona will do just fine. This is not an exceptionally cold system, so rain will probably be the dominant feature below 6-7000 feet. Who cares? Just bring it on!

SoCal is doing just fine! Steady rain since the middle of the night, with occasional heavier periods. We had a break yesterday, the sun came out. This gave the first little bit of rain a chance to sink into the soil, and gave the happy plants and trees a nice bit of time to work on their production of chlorophyll. This morning's rain seems more serious.

I'd like to see these totals pan out as forecast.

What I find curious, is the Tucson NWS office's story this AM for snow totals in the sky islands. http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/FXC/wxstory.php?wfo=twc

Unless that gets updated, for some reason, Interstate 10 is the divide with the ranges south of 10, such as the Santa Ritas and Chiricahua Mountains, having no mention of snow, but some decent totals for the ranges north of 10. But hey, at least the desert is forecast and may get, a very needed and healthy 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. It's a shame we didn't get several more of these this winter, but after the Winter Solstice occurred, we didn't really seem to have a winter. Not complaining about the lack of real cold, just wishing we had some more rain and snow.

In Northern Arizona (it is, Liz) Flagstaff NWS calls for small amounts of snow with mostly rain around Flagstaff, but 15 to 30 inches of snow on the Peaks above 8500', so the Ski "Resort" (Chumley ;) ) will get it very nicely. Also, I suspect that the back country will get more like 30, and perhaps, near treeline a solid 3 feet may fall.

I miss storms like this, like we used to have back in late 2007, all of 2008, and a little in 2009, and those many in early 2010. Good, wet, winter storms with deep rain and snow totals. We had that super developed Pineapple Express in late 2010, but then very little real the rest of that winter of 2011 and then I left. 2011-12 was a dud, and I was gone by last winter. It's nice to have a storm like this, again. I suppose, being down here, I just can't expect to see much unless an El Nino develops and lows track W-E roughly along the 33 parallel, but what can you do?

LOTS of rain today! I am sure there is flooding somewhere or other. I don't seem to watch the news much, though.

Just started pouring in Sunnyslope, literally seconds ago ...

That did not last long.
----

Haha, just started again. Looks like this will be off and on for awhile ...

kingsnake wrote:That did not last long.
----

Haha, just started again. Looks like this will be off and on for awhile ...

This storm is like that. Even when the rain got very heavy, it arrived in waves.

Some very impressive totals in California! I wonder, will Arizona see some, too? Flag had close to an inch, of all rain.

When is 100% not 100%? When the hot weather models have a case of premature precipitation.

Though it's from 6am, here's what the forecasters had to say:

FOR THOSE OF US IN THE PHOENIX AREA...THIS UPPER LOW HAS BEEN AN ABYSMAL UNDER-PERFORMER THUS FAR. UNLESS YOU WERE ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES CAUGHT UNDER A BRIEF SHOWER IN CAVE CREEK/CAREFREE FRIDAY EVENING...YOU HAVENT SEEN A DROP THUS FAR.

So there have been a few drops in Tempe so far, but I'd say the above statement is pretty accurate. Abysmal is a good word to describe this desert dud so far. They are clinging to hope, but I'm starting to think Phx will be lucky to get .25". I guess we shall see...

The Nordic Center webcam is showing the snow line to be about 8000 feet. Basically no accumulation there, just signs of some wet slush mixed with rain.

Windy dark clouds here and warm in So Az and no rain so far. I guess I jinxed it by putting out some fertilizer in anticipation of a nice rain to soak it all in.

Well, the low is still off shore, and southern California had a lot, so it wasn't a total dud. Flagstaff, Prescott, and Payson have had some, per the rainlog.org site. It was originally forecast to weaken and lift northward as it came across Arizona, so perhaps it is doing that a little earlier. At least the real watershed areas are getting something; Colorado and the Sierra.

RedRoxx44 wrote:Windy dark clouds here and warm in So Az and no rain so far. I guess I jinxed it by putting out some fertilizer in anticipation of a nice rain to soak it all in.

There is a fix! Immediately begin to wash and wax your car. ;)

getting second wave of heavy rain here in the north valley. I got the 5am rain too.

0.05 inch at my house so far (as of noon)...paltry indeed.

Rain Hiking tomorrow

After a trace around sunrise (the concrete didn't even get wet, absorbed it all) I just got .44" in a 10-minute deluge. The sun is now out with blue skies.

Just a sprinkle here and there at my house early in the day. Barely enough to wet the pavement.

Another foot of snow is headed this way.