Monsoon Diary

[Susan Strom]

Hey Phoenicians...
I'm liking what I see for the pattern this weekend, I better make a film run.

hey if you're up early, 12News Saturday 9:55am will show some stills of my 7/13 stuff from that big Tuesday one that came through and other recent desert CGs. (hey that was some storm wasn't it!). There might be a blip on the Boyce show too (if not, see link couple posts back..)

I'd like to see a good flash flood, maybe one of those remote arroyos, get some landscape rearranged. Those things are always amazing (as long as I'm not in it )

 

[Mike Peregrine]

Susan - anxious to see some of your work from this year ... one of these years I'm going to come out to AZ for some monsoon chasing myself ... you get some of the coolest sky/landscape combinations on the planet this time of year ...

 

[Susan Strom]

Definitely Mike, come out and chase the Monsoon sometime...

 

[Joe Zemek]

hey if you're up early, 12News Saturday 9:55am will show some stills of my 7/13 stuff from that big Tuesday one that came through and other recent desert CGs.

Susan, I missed your TV appearance twice? D'oh!

Good luck tonight. Given anvils blowing back behind the storms, keeping the inflow juiced, looks like some long lived storms in the south, and some good opportunity to see some sunlit tower tops long after sunset, hopefully with lightning beneath 'em. <sigh> Someday I'll have time to chase... fingers crossed for August :?

 

[Susan Strom]

Joe wrote:

Susan, I missed your TV appearance twice? D'oh!

No maj... thanks for thinkin' of me 8) Honestly the live spot ran at 7:20am... before the birds and snakes get up (yawn). It was funny though, it turned out that the anchor and I grew up in the same town and even skated at the same roller disco in California when we were kids LOL so we ended up talking about that too at the end of the stormchasing segment LOL. I was grabbin' for the Starbucks at that hour (5am to make it downtown in time). The 9:55 am spot on 12 ran a little later but it wasn't as long as the early news. The best one by far though ran last Thursday at 9:15 on Your Life A-Z (the Heidi Foglesong show) on 3. They gave me a full 10 minutes with Heidi F. & Royal Norman (chief met). It was so relaxing because we cut it the day before, on a "having coffee" set. Heidi and Royal are funny together. If you caught it they did a really cute chroma-key segment, explaining how broadcast mets do the wx on the green screen. Comedians, it was pretty good! Royal's going to try and shoot some lightning here this summer. He'll probably get some great shots.

After running up to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, I chased lastnight in the towns of Globe/Miami. They get the orographic lift there in the Superstitions. What a landscape, the Superstitions. Serious geologic activity, spires, canyons, vertical uplift. Dang. Love it. So I tried for CGs in some of the severe where I could see the Weaver's Needle, after spending some time shooting towers over some Indian ruins in the afternoon.

Hey we're on the heels of August!

 

[Susan Strom]

Lightning was plentiful lastnight in the north Valley, courtesy of an MCS that originally formed in Yavapai county (Prescott/Verde Valley). The thing was impressive, spanning an area all the way from the Harquahala Mountains to Prescott to Black Canyon City, continually forming good looking cells in the 50-55 dbz range. Holding out long after dark, in the late evening the activity dropped out of the Upper Sonoran terrain and into the Valley. I worked with it until about 2am from one of the mountain passes, and saw some beautiful CGs.

While framing up the McDowell range for a shot around 1:30am, I heard the distinctive tone of a Cosanti bell in the distance. Although there is no way to improve upon the sound of a Paolo Soleri bronze Cosanti bell, thunder works with it quite nicely. Paolo Soleri's sculptured bells are poured of heavy bronze in his studio in Scottsdale. Iconic to the Southwest as adobe walls and Navajo rugs, the sought-after works of art create an unmistakeable sound. One year I received a particularly heavy one as a gift from my parents. It makes a low ringtone, but only in monsoon or gale. When a Cosanti bell is ringing, you know there must be a breeze. They range in size from tennis-ball to several feet of heavy bronze suspended from chains.

(In case you're curious: http://www.cosanti.com/)

 

[Susan Strom]

Here's a little more about the current lightning photography show at Boyce Thompson Arboretum. If you happen to be in Arizona...feel free to stop by and explore the Arboretum and see this month's Visitors Center Gallery show...

The Boyce Thompson Arboretum Visitors Center is hosting a lightning photography show by Susan Strom and Cathy Franklin, through the end of August 2004. Informal coffee reception Saturday August 7, 2004 from 9am-11am. All are welcome. The photo show will also run through the end of the month. The photo show is starting to become an annual Monsoon event (this is my fourth one).

Park info (from their Web site):
The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is the oldest and most spectacularly situated botanical garden in the American Southwest! In the roaring 1920s mining magnate Colonel William Boyce Thompson founded this 320-acre collection of desert plants at the foot of towering Picketpost Mountain near Superior, Arizona. He wanted to create in this place the most beautiful and useful arboretum of its kind in the world, and to instill in people an appreciation of plants. Now, more than seven decades later, the Arboretum has grown to include two miles of walking paths, a place for children to learn and for all ages to appreciate the beauty and importance of our desert ecosystems. Visitors can purchase cacti, succulents, and water-efficient trees and shrubs at the Visitor Center. Arboretum admission is $7.50 for adults and $3 for children ages 5-12 (kids under 5 are admitted free). The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is located 60 miles east of Phoenix at milepost 223 on Highway 60, 90 miles north of Tucson via Highway 79 and three miles west of Superior (mining town). Amenities include hiking trails, restrooms, picnic areas. Approximate elevation is 2,400 ft. Day-use only. Admission is taken from 8-4 daily. Park telephone number is (520) 689-2811. On the Web at http://arboretum.ag.arizona.edu

Right now, visiting is best in the mornings as BTA is situated in Upper Sonoran terrain so still experiences the hot weather. However, there is a lot of shade among the mature trees and hiking can be for any level.

 

[Carrie Halliday]

If I were in the area, I would come check it out Susan.

Keep the Monsoon diary alive. Am enjoying your accounts.

From one lightning lover to another.........GREAT STUFF!!

 

[Susan Strom]

Thanks Carrie
I plan to keep the Monsoon Diary rolling until the stormy wx breaks in September. Some of my chases from last week I didn't log due to media stuff that I was involved in but I'll always make sure to journal the significant stuff. I've been very busy. (One experience that I forgot to add though... a few nights ago a car full of guys spotted me in the desert and turned to chase me! :shock: You never saw me move so fast in all my life...first time that happened in 8 years. Lost them on a frontage road literally in a puff of smoke. Anyway, that experience is still fresh in my mind...as is the unbending rule of mine (and WF's) to always have an escape route handy. No kidding. However, this week I got my favorite shot back from the lab...more on that later...I'm excited about that.

Aside from that... hey...is anyone in Tucson? I have a story in tomorrow's Star and I'm hoping I'll be able to scoot down I10 to pick up a copy somewhere. Anyway, I'll probably do some chasing in Tucson tomorrow night too if the stormgods cooperate. After all it is Thor's Day! Thurs & Fri are supposed to be active, the H is in the right place for tomorrow then supposed to move west after that but the flow from the south will come over the Sea of Cortez so we'll see if it imports moisture for us...

BTW the Monsoon Diary is 4 everybody...wherever the Monsoon reaches, El Paso...Denver...Nevada...Sierras...Intermountain West. The Diary is fair game for all

 

[Susan Strom]

Hi guys...

Some new pix not on my site yet are in the Daily Star today (Tucson). If you like big CGs take a look

http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/starmedia/32860

cheerio...

 

[Carrie Halliday]

Awesome!!!

 

[Greg Campbell]

Originally posted by Susan Strom
Thanks Carrie

Aside from that... hey...is anyone in Tucson? I have a story in tomorrow's Star and I'm hoping I'll be able to scoot down I10 to pick up a copy somewhere.

I'll go grab one for ya. I can mail it, hold it for pick-up, or perhaps deliver it in person if I get to your Bryce Arboretum grand opening this Saturday.

-Greg

 

[Susan Strom]

Thanks Greg!!! I do appreciate that, yes just hang onto it for me, I'm sure I'll see you soon either at Boyce or chasing. I was planning to run down I10 tonight (and I still might if there's chasing in Tucson) but I just got a call for another morning news spot, this one is tomorrow at 6:05am (huge yawn) which means leave my town at 4:30am to get to ch 12 downtown Phx and set up on time. That's before birds and snakes get up. I appreciate that, Greg!!

 

[Susan Strom]

Thursday 8/5/04 (Thor's Day)

Despite my morning coming early, I caved to the prospect of storms in Tucson so hit the highway after dark. Halfway to Tucson, a large raindrop fell on my lip, like a storm kiss. It immediately reminded me of "cave kisses", the name that rangers give to drops of water that fall from the ceilings of spectacular caverns like Kartchner in Southeast Arizona. Getting a cave kiss means good luck! Does the same hold true for a storm kiss? Soon the inevitable "blap blap" quarter size drops hit the windshield followed by curtains of heavy rain. At the Flying J, I had one of those, what do they call it...Spanglish? conversations about the sunset with a driver headed to Mexico City. The sunset was a traffic-stopper, Arizona Highways cover shot, Ave Maria and all the angels coming out kind of thing. Unbelievable. When I got to the Central Deserts my NOAA picked up the severe warnings out for Santa Cruz & Cochise counties, even though clouds had been stratiform since Phoenix.

The minute I passed Picacho Peak heading south (Picacho Peak is a towering spire that juts out of the desert floor. It is also the site of the westernmost Civil War battle that took place in 1862), CGs started coming down in the desert like arrows. I pulled over in Marana but got back on the highway...too much industria in the foreground, no place for a clear shot. So I pressed on to areas near Ina Road (north Tucson) and got better views of the lightning there. CGs were blazing up north and west in the Catalinas and in Tucson metro. One of the most spectacular bolts occurred while I was driving. It looked like a huge ball of tinsel. Then there was a big teal green one over Mt. Lemmon, the 9,150ft sky island range that flanks Tucson. The action was great for awhile then moved NE very quickly and the area cleared again. It was over as fast as it started!

I didn't get to bed at all. After returning from Tucson, I had to leave by 4am anyway to be at the station downtown with a bunch of framed pictures and look halfway awake for the morning news. How they (anchors) do that every day is beyond me, yet they pull it together like sailing. Lifetime tab at Starbucks?? At 6:30am, the station's own chaser's pager went off, and he was out the door to get some vid on some cells in the East Valley. Lightning had been active since the crack of dawn. That old adage..."Red skies at night, sailor's delight" doesn't apply here. Red skies are just a hallmark of Monsoon.

 

[Morgan Palmer]

It's really been a pleasure reading all of these stories about the monsoon. Although I've never been to Arizona, I've seen quite a few storms (esp. when I was growing up) across the Jornada Del Muerto and Tularosa Valley in NM.

Some folks say they drove through New Mexico and don't know why anyone would want to live there. They say it's ugly. I think even the most barren desert floor is beautiful.

As for the morning news, I anchored one for two years. At the end of my stint, I decided I wanted to move from news to weather to finally make my hobby and passion my career. However, I don't know if I could have done it another few years. It's incredibly hard on the body, esp. if you're a night person. I am. My co-anchor and I would several times a week pop ephedra tablets (those diet suppliments) to jazz ourselves up, if but temporarily.

However, for the next four weeks, I'll be doing morning weather (my normal shift is weekends) before I take my much awaited vacation. The only thing is that shift starts at 3:30am... the old news shift started at 4:30ish.


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