Monsoon Mystery

[SEAZSky]

The following from today's Arizona Daily Star
is a good article by the interviewing reporter:

http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/printDS/27747.php

The actual paper copy had diagrams, photos, etc.
But the on-line version didn't.

Stan - near Tucson, AZ......waiting......

[Aslkahuna]

for the monsoon on my homepage, you will see that I use more than one. I do use the dewpoint but a lower value since I'm even higher than TUS, but I also use the 850 mb monsoon moisture boundary and the actual shift in the winds which is more pronounced here than in TUS or PHX. Also, I do NOT consider the recent rains to be anywhere near associated with the monsoon since it was not established south of us. In 2000, we continued with the moist flow after Bud came up and had the wettest June on record. The worst example of the fallibility of the dewpoint criteria came in 1994. We had a pattern that was clearly associated with the westerlies that brough moisture up here. We had thunderstorms and even some severe and PHX met the dewpoint criteria and declared June 19th as the start. As often happens here, I was interviewed about this by the newspaper and my reply to the question was one of my classic ones-"Ask me that same question next next week when it's over 100F and the dewpoint is 20F." By the next week a 610 Dm H5 High parked over AZ and the temperatures went through the roof while the humidity got lower than a snake's belly. On July 17th, the monsoon started for real and in earnest and on July 28th Tucson was hit by a F2 tornado while we entered large hail and videotaped another tornado in Cochise County.

Steve

[SEAZSky]

Right On - Steve

And - I like what John Glueck said.............

By the way, monsoon means the season, not an individual storm.

"Each individual storm is not a monsoon. Don't do that. That's a big bugaboo with me," Glueck said. "On the radio, sometimes you'll hear them say, 'We're going to have more monsoons today,' and that just drives me up the wall."

I like John, and personally know his wife, and "new"
son, all of whom also live in Oro Valley - near me.

I really like your postings, and your home page, etc.

Just before I got married (almost 48 years ago), I
passed a US Weather Bureau (remember) civil service
exam for an observer at Fairbanks, AK. But, instead -
I got married just before I was to leave for duty.....

I worked in the aerospace/defense industry in So. Calif.
for ~ 35 years - in meteorological aspects for defense
systems, etc.

Stan - AZ Skywarn spotter (among others).....

[weatherlover427]

Mr. Glueck is a cool guy, I've contacted him a few times on the phone myself in reference to my own monsoon forums web site. I really enjoy talking to him.

[azskyman]

Of particular interest to me during the monsoon season, however it might be defined, is the impact of orographics on rains to the northwest and east of my location in NE Phoenix.

Storms around Wickenburg clearly make that a wetter location most monsoon seasons...and the same is true along the Salt River valley and along the Mogollon Rim country and Four Peaks.

[Aslkahuna]

of the monsoon down here is the area of eastern Santa Cruz County around Canelo, Elgin, Sonoita and Patagonia-they not only get more rain that anyone else around here (there's a place near Elgin appropriately called Rain Valley) but they also get some real nice storm structure for us storm chasers.

Steve