HikeArizona.COM

The endless chatter of weather.

SkyIslandHiker wrote:a whopping 31.73"

That's downright tropical

It's a Solstice Miracle! :FG: :FG: :FG:

The Lemmon Summit totals are quite impressive, and it wasn't very dry up there for the previous 8 to 9 months, either. 12.99 at Marshall Gulch is probably more normal. I'm just happy that if these sort of things are going to happen, that areas of watershed importance, or where people who love that sort of thing happen to live, is where it went.

The final tally for Mt. Lemmon was 6.46" during the Tropical Depression 16-E event which brought that rain gauge up to 33.03" since June 01.

I stopped by the Santa Rita Lodge (5,000' level in Madera Canyon) to see what their rain gauge recorded yesterday. The lady working the gift shop says they got almost 4 inches.

We had about 1.5" of acorns over the last couple days. The deer and bears will feast.

That's nuts!

Looks like one of the most incorrectly forecast weather systems in recent memory will fizzle out with next to no rain at all in most places where the forecast called for 1-3" and more!

A nice swath of Mesa got a good storm with 1-2" this evening as well as north Scottsdale and a small area near downtown. The rest of central and southwestern Arizona ended up with a pretty disappointing showing based on the speculation!

I hesitate to make a final proclamation, but it appears long awaited fall weather perfection has arrived. I rejoice in this occurrence! :FG: :FG:

It's 100 degrees out.

Patrick L wrote:It's 100 degrees out.

And it's dry with no rain. It's gorgeous at the Canyon and the Peaks, from the Whites to the Catalinas. It might be a little hot in the Valley, but so what, it's the Valley.

The good news is ... we've had three days with average dew points under 55 degrees, which I think means the monsoon is over according to the old metric. The bad news is ... the dew point is still hovering in the low 50s. Combined with the unseasonal heat, it still feels like August! :yuck:

Joe's magic 14-day guesscast may turn out to be right ... except off by one week. :-({|=

So, the dew should should be off more by now? Good, I was hoping for drier. The desert has be rather moist lately.

Mid October is when things normally cool off and dry up. September is a temptress. I don't recall the heat and or humidity ever ending in September since I've lived in the valley (21 years).

@johnlp
Daytime highs are one thing, but nighttime lows are another. I have detailed records going back 10 years for overseeding. Bermuda dormancy can't begin until the lows at night drop into the mid 60s.

It's not unusual for highs even in the end of September and early October to be in the upper 90s and low 100s, but it is unusual for it to not have dried out a little bit allowing the nights to cool. Looking at the stats this year, even suburban Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, and Goodyear stations have barely had any nights below 70 yet, except for a rare 68 or 69 a week or so ago.

It might be two more weeks before I think about my winter lawn this year!

Yes, late September should have lows in the 60's. I hope we don't have one week of fall (temps in the 80's) this year. When are the el nino rains supposed to begin?

The winter rainy season in the desert usual begins in earnest around the first of December, extending into March. That would be the main time to look for effects of the much hyped El Nino.

Interesting report on this year's monsoon in the valley. The warmest average low temperatures ever.
Spotty rain totals, with Phoenix and Tempe far outpacing typical hotspots like Fountain Hills and Carefree.
Full report here: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/psr/pns/2015/Se ... review.php

It's about time!
Flagstaff has only had 4 nights that have even dropped below 40 so far.

And there's snow in the forecast for the peaks by Monday.

It's been raining all day in Vegas. Rather than tapering off as predicted earlier, the thunderstorms are sticking around and getting more intense. My phone keeps sending flash flood alarms.

Both North and South Forks of Soap Creek are Flashing, both Forks of Badger Creek and Cottonwood Wash.....