I'm pretty sure Tucson has 'officially' made it. We needed only one more day...
Thw SW has seen a somewhat more humid early summer than usual, with several bursts of storm activity in June. Driving to California early in the month, I enjoyed storms much of the way, geting the rain/lightning treatment in Phx, Kingman, N. Las Vegas, and while crossing the Inyo/White mountains, east of Big Pine. (I was keen to photograph the Bristlecones at twilight, with lightning accents, but the storms drifted away as I waited. FARK!)
At any rate, it's been nice and humid and stormy here in S. Az for the last 8~10 days. After suffering high clouds and piss-poor lapse rates early in the week, the upper air has since dried/cooled slightly, allowing the afternoon/evening storms to do fairly well. I've enjoyed good lightning chasing 4 nights in a row.
The southern flow still isn't going full-chat, but it's producing enough action to keep us entertained.
After enduring the Dog Days of May and June, the Thunderstorm Season is always welcome!
-Greg
