Phoenix Eyes New Zero Precip. Record

[David Wolfson]

As usual for this season so far, the promised trough is deamplifying as it hits the west coast. No big rain event for southern California, and nary a drop for Arizona. Desert dewpoints are still in the teens this morning.

The next chance is in about a week if you choose to believe how the models are handling the pattern. I don't much. I'm placing my bets on further retrograde of the long wave off the Pacific Coast and a moderate March death ridge coming with some increase in the meridional flow component. Let's get it out of the way now -- I say!

 

[Austin Ivey]

Looks like the dry spell in Phoenix will finally come to an end this weeknd. WFO PHX is expecting up to .50 inches this weekend in the greater PHX area. Winter storm watches have been posted for Southern Gila county and tonto national forest where 6-12 inches of snow are forecast! Maybe the Arizona Snowbowl will be able to open after this storm? HPC has a 2.2 inch liquid equivalent bullseye just north of PHX for the cumulative period of Friday-Wed.

Here in New Mexico we are still high and dry. Normal snowfall is 60 inches in town.....we've only receieved a TRACE!! They are expecting the worst fire season since 1898! There not much left to burn in Los Alamos however.
Trees are dying everywhere.

 

[Susan Strom]

Royal Norman (chief met, 3TV Phx) said that this is going to be "a dangerous storm". I like the sound of that. I think he is mostly referring to the cold wind and rain, and also the snow coming for the Mogollon Rim. There is already a lot of wind and clouds developing. Bring it on!

 

[David Wolfson]

Bring it on is right! I keep wondering where the moisture for tomorrow's big storm is going to come from. Dp is 35 in San Francisco, 41 in San Diego, and single digits (!) coming off the uplands of NV and northwest AZ. The nearest subtropical connection is south of Baja.

 

[Khristian Snyder]

Nice cold storm...getting some nice rain here in So Cal. Some thunderstorm are around too...im hoping for some waterspouts. Snow levels have been very low with snow in most deserts and down to some of the lower valley areas.

 

[David Drummond]

In Lubbock, Texas we have officially crossed the threshold of 150 days without any significant (.25 inch or more) precipitation!! :shock: I am now experiencing Day 3 of 5 days of sand blowing forecast currently.

 

[B Ozanne]

It's over, it is raining in Phoenix. Does anyone know what the official record is going to be? 141 days?

 

[David Wolfson]

Yay! There's this strange, cold, and wet substance falling from the sky! According to the news it was 143 days without rain.

 

[Khristian Snyder]

Nice...have a slight chance of severe here today...brief tornado Encintias, by San Diego.

 

[David Wolfson]

Heh. Right now there's a mini-supercell moving right and approaching Ajo in southwest AZ. Little flying-V and all with a visible overshoot on the satellite.... And, of course, the PHX radar stopped updating :roll:

 

[Austin Ivey]

Yeah this is quite a cold-core system. I don't recall seeing -38C 500mb temps in the lower 48 in recent memory.

 

[Joe Zemek]

I remember rain! I was unsure of it at first but it all came back to me! Water, falling from the sky: so simple and elegant!

Official rainless record: 143 days.

Incredibly, there is a Heavy Snow Warning in effect for northern Maricopa County, including the metro Phoenix area. Accumulation of 2-6 inches is possible between 2 and 3,000 ft (with more than a foot possible at 4,000!). This is amazing. It's possible that the morning will reveal a small snowcap on the interior mountains (and of course on the Four Peaks) and I have never seen that.

Craziness.

 

[Khristian Snyder]

We had some very low snow levels here too...down to just above 1,000 feet...not accumulating though. Some tornadoes were reported in the same area two days in a row.

 

[Greg Campbell]

Finally, the first real rain of the year. (It actually made puddles!)
The storm total is probably around half an inch in Tucson proper. The Catalina Mountains had rain all day Sat., and light snow overnight.

Still, this is nothing more than a 'feelgood' storm. The precip will do little for the parched desert and withering city shrubbery. Maybe a few grasses will sprout and provide a nibble of food for the desert critters. I doubt this is enough to give us any sort of wildflower bloom this year.
Scenes like this are not gonna happen this year....