Goodbye Monsoon? (Tucson, Flagstaff, Prescott: buying, living, moving)

[OurNextAdventure]

What part are you from? I see North Central Arizona, where abouts?

Anybody up for playing in the mud out in Arlington this afternoon?

[observer53]

I don't see this as a nonexistent monsoon, either. We haven't had the massive thunder/lightning/duststorms (especially those without rain, which I really resent), but we've had more rain, and in different areas of the Valley, than in many monsoon seasons, and days when it rained even throughout the day. We're over 2.5 inches to the good for rain overall this year.

[Ritchie_az]

How can one say? We might have had a lot more if not for the heat island.

I guess that wasn't my point. I was just offering a flip-side to the coin. The heat island effect is only an unproven theory....

[Moveeast31]

Originally Posted by observer53

I don't see this as a nonexistent monsoon, either. We haven't had the massive thunder/lightning/duststorms (especially those without rain, which I really resent), but we've had more rain, and in different areas of the Valley, than in many monsoon seasons, and days when it rained even throughout the day. We're over 2.5 inches to the good for rain overall this year.

Totally depends on where you are I suppose. Some places have gotten rain and others like Buckeye and Avondale it has been practically non-existent.

[AZDesertBrat]

Originally Posted by AzDesertRat86

What part are you from? I see North Central Arizona, where abouts?

Anybody up for playing in the mud out in Arlington this afternoon?

I'm up in the Verde Valley...Cottonwood. I think I counted 20 rain drops this afternoon.

[Valley Native]

The rains during the summer monsoon are nice to have ... but in reality, we should be more concerned about long dry spells and lack of rain during the WINTER months instead of the summer. Anybody who has looked at the long term averages knows that winter is the primary precipitation season for much of Arizona (with the exception of the SE part of the state). The main reason that Arizona has experienced drought conditions periodically during the last 15 years isn't due to the lack of summer monsoon storms ... it's due to the lack of significant snowpacks. Only the winter seasons of 1997-1998, 2004-2005, and this past winter have had above average precipitation. Every other winter season in the last 15 years has had below normal moisture levels.

So while the moisture from the summer monsoon certainly HELPS, the fact is that most of Arizona is dependent on winter storms much more than summer storms. With that in mind, our priorities really need to change in terms of the so called "winter tourism season". Snowbirds and newer transplants seem to thrive on sunshine here too much ... and when there is an abundance of sun and a lack of moisture in the winter, that spells trouble in the big picture. Instead of worshping the sun so much, we really should be condemning it when winter precipitation amounts are below average.

[saffordpastor]

We have had a real decent monsoon here....the weeds are knee high just about everywhere and the whole area is as green as can be....I was in Whiteriver Sunday, and my wife called and told me it was starting to pour....and then it did it again...and again...and started up again as she went to bed.
Then yesterday it rained and rained..and then some more.

Man, up around Whiteriver it is so green it hurts your eyes...my daughter and I were on the road to the Kinishba ruins and the wild sunflowers were lining the road six feet high...fantastic..
There is nothing as nice as late summer sunflowers.

[Sheri R]

Monsoon is fussy like that. Some places are bone dry and us...well...we are in North Peoria and a couple of weeks ago a storm ripped one of the trees out of the front and we had nearly 2 inches of rain in an hour. It's rained up here about twice a week every week for the past few weeks. Last year we barely saw a thing.

[OurNextAdventure]

Originally Posted by AZDesertBrat

I'm up in the Verde Valley...Cottonwood. I think I counted 20 rain drops this afternoon.

Um, you just got rain not too long ago. I was in Cottonwood under a month ago, and I took this picture coming outside the WalMart there.


Also, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, weather is calling for Thunderstorms in Cottonwood. Friday and Saturday, weather is calling for highs of 110.

I want to live there in Cottonwood, btw.

[AZDesertBrat]

Originally Posted by AzDesertRat86

Um, you just got rain not too long ago. I was in Cottonwood under a month ago, and I took this picture coming outside the WalMart there.


Also, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, weather is calling for Thunderstorms in Cottonwood. Friday and Saturday, weather is calling for highs of 110.

I want to live there in Cottonwood, btw.

Yes, we DID get some good rains but it's been weeks now. Since then all we've been getting is heat, humidity, clouds and thunder all around us but no rain.

I work at Wal Mart. Wonder if you walked past me and we didn't know it! I am one of those People Greeters.

Of COURSE we have predictions of rain on days I have to work! We have to park way out in the South 40...by Carl's Jr....so I get to run through the downpours! lol Twice now I've been soaked to the knees by the time I got to the door. Thankfully I dried out pretty fast.

As for living in Cottonwood...I can think of worse places! I love it here but it is, literally, 'home' for me.