Tag: weather

Arizona Weather

Last week we had rain… lots of it.  Consider this… Phoenix normally gets about 7 to 8 inches of rain a year and last week we got almost 3.5 inches.  That’s kind of nuts to think about.  Amazingly, there wasn’t much street flooding in the metro area, so that was good.  The back yard of the new house was a lake (not so good when you want the landscaping done ASAP).  There was lots of wind damage though.  Phoenix was under a tornado warning for most of Thursday night and some event tents were blown across the Loop 101 in North Phoenix leaving all the classic cars stored underneath them exposed to the elements.  Up in Flagstaff, they got close to 3 feet of snow.  Normal snowfall for the entire month of January is only 22 inches.  There were quite a few buildings that had their roofs collapse under the intense weight and seeing the pictures posted this weekend and early this week, it’s a good thing the buildings gave way after closing time for these businesses.

So yeah, it was a crazy weather week for us and there’s still signs of the storm lingering around the valley… like water actually flowing through the Salt River at the 35th Ave bridge!  SRP is saying that we’ll see water flowing until at least March as they release water from the reservoirs upstream.

Here’s a photo of what the sky looked like on Friday morning as I was driving to work after dropping Beezus off for her spaying appointment.  A dark sky that we’re not used to seeing in January.

HVAC System Update – Blog Quickie

So I read the FAQs online and was able to troubleshoot the heating problem. The system works like a charm now. Just in time, since the weather took a turn for the worse this week. We have had pretty not stop rain since yesterday at 4pm. Nuts.

Crazy Arizona Weather – Serious Consequences

Yesterday was a crazy weather day here in Arizona.  Two interstates were closed because of bad weather.  I-10 was closed South of Phoenix due to blowing dust.  The low visibility caused a massive wreck that involved at least 8 semi trucks and killed 4 people.  Insane.  The second interstate was I-40 between Flagstaff and Williams.  It was closed due to white-out blizzard conditions which also led to a large pileup of cars thankfully with no serious injuries.

So there you have it.  December weather… Arizona style.

Six More Weeks

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning so that means six more weeks of winter. How do you know if winter sticks around for six more weeks? I mean, given that it was close to 80 degrees here in Phoenix yesterday, I’d say that spring was already here.

How do you judge the beginning of spring in your area?

Rainbow

Yesterday, Phoenix got a winter rain storm.  As the sun was setting in the west, a rainbow showed up.  Here are a few photos of the rainbow.  As you can see, it was a full rainbow.

From my drive home.

From my living room window overlooking the pool.

Monsoon!

Some pictures for those of you who don’t live here in Arizona.  This is what my drive home from a friend’s how looked today at 6pm.  Good old dust storm!  Now, let’s just hope that we get some rain from this later tonight.  Click on the images for the larger size.

In the last photo, normally you can see the airport to the left.  No such luck!

Arizona Lightning

Last night Phoenix was treated to a lightning show!  During the hour that I made the photo below, the weather service counted over 4800 lightning strikes.  This is called constant lightning and it’s really really cool.  The night sky is just full of flashes and is almost never dark because of it.  Take a look at the video I took below from my bedroom window.  Also, there’s a photo gallery below for your enjoyment as well.  After taking these photos and the video, I ended up losing power (for 5 hours!) because the monsoon that was following this lightning show finally hit.  It was what I would imagine a hurricane is like.  The wind was blowing and the rain was falling horizontally.  Some crazy stuff, but I love Arizona weather!

Another Video?

So, I had to share these videos.  These were taken back on August 4th at the Cubs/Astros game in Chicago.  The game was suspended for severe weather.  The videos below show what it was like before and during the almost tornado that hit the area.  The loud sirens in the background are the tornado warning sirens going off.  The announcer at the game told everyone in the stands to seek immediate shelter.  The entrances were closed and fans were kept from leaving for their own safety.  Kind of crazy.

Monsoon Season – 2008!

It’s officially started!!  Monsoon Season is here for the next few weeks and it has started with a bang.  Yesterday we had a crap load of rain fall over an hours time.  Some areas of Phoenix received over an inch and a half of rain.  That may not sound like much to some of you but you must remember we live in a desert.  Below is a photo I took outside of my window.  Normally you can see houses across the way, not today!  Also, the YouTube video below is the sound of the rain on my window.  We never have a monsoon rain without wind.  Good times!

Iowa Storms

I can’t help but feel for those who are living in the flood ravaged areas of Iowa.  Some of the photos I’ve seen are crazy.  Take the one below as just an example.  Yikes!  Let’s hope the weather lets up soon so things can start getting back to normal.

iowa