It's no longer JUST about the drought, it's about surviving!

[azsnowman]

Here's another reason why this drought is so horrible for us.

http://www.azcentral.com

Businesses that rely on winter hit hard, fear worst not over

Max Jarman
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 6, 2006 12:00 AM


Arizona skiers and snowboarders are putting the dry winter of 2005-06 behind them.

For high-country businesses that depend on snow for their livelihoods, the season may be harder to dismiss. The impact of Arizona's driest winter on record could linger in the form of cash-flow problems, wildfires and forest closures.

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Pinetop-Lakeside in the White Mountains counts on skiers at nearby Sunrise Park Resort to tide it over until the summer tourism season kicks in. Sunrise closed Feb. 26 after one of its worst seasons, and Pinetop-Lakeside has suffered. The lack of snow doesn't compare with the economic devastation wrought by the "Rodeo-Chediski" fire in summer 2002. While the fire never reached Pinetop-Lakeside, it hurt tourism for nearly a year.

"The summer residents left in June, and they didn't come back," said Kent Brooksby, town finance director. "It was devastating."

At Greer Lodge about 50 miles east in Greer, manager Michael Taylor estimates winter business is off up to 60 percent.

"We've done snow dances until our legs gave out," he said.

He, too, is worried about the impact of a summer of forest closures and fires.

"It would be horrible."

The double-whammy of no snow and closed forests killed Phoenix retailer Popular Outdoor Outfitters. The 54-year-old company filed for bankruptcy last year and in February closed its Flagstaff store, the last of a onetime string of 23 outlets.

Although Popular faced stiff competition from discount retailers such as Wal-Mart, General Manager Jim Scott blamed the failure on the absence of snow for skiing coupled with a decline in camping because of forest closures and fires.

[azsnowman]

I know a LOT of you are SICK and tired of my complaining but it's NOT just about the lack of moisture anymore, it's about basic survival and just how MUCH the weather plays a factor in our everyday lives.........and NO, I'm NOT going to MOVE! Seriously, long term droughts have effects on EVERY aspect of life.

Dennis

[BReb]

I know a LOT of you are SICK and tired of my complaining

You're in the midst of a very significant weather phenomenon- on-sight reports about such phenomena is part of what this board is about. Besides, we're getting into a boring time of the year weather wise, so keep the reports coming.

[LTHLBLU]

it may not be as bad as a hurricane, buts its the closest youre gonna get, we didnt get tired of members who were affected by the hurricanes complaing, so its all good man. I really hope you guys get something soon.

[Stephanie]

It's nice to see the support coming for our AZ friends.

[azsnowman]

Well......this is NICE breath of FRESH air for change Thank you!

Dennis

[LTHLBLU]

no problem

[Aslkahuna]

Actually, we here in SE AZ have come close to hurricanes as we have had hurricane force wind gusts from Tropical Storms down here. Actually, I think people would be surprised at the economic and property losses that have been incurred because of this drought. I would imagine that it's in the category of 100 Billion by now.

Steve

[Extremeweatherguy]

hurricane force wind gusts from tropical storms? when was the last time that happened? According to what I can find...the last TS to make it to the state died as it hit Yuma and was only about a 50mph TS when it reached that area (and this was a very long time ago). Other than that, I can not find a record of a "true" TS hitting the state of AZ (not including the remnants). Do you have any good sites on this subject? I would love to learn more.

[Aslkahuna]

Kathleen hit Yuma with wind gusts of 76mph in the 1970's. Lester wind gusts hit 69 mph in the Valley, 78 mph in town and both my house and one of the FHU Mesonet site sites in 1992. While not hurricane force gusts, YUM had 60 mph gusts from Nora in 1997. We had 60 mph gusts from Raymond in 1989 and 64 mph gusts as Newton passed over Douglas in 1986 (though NHC dropped it as soon as it made landfall and much too soon). You have to dig deep to get this information as my son found out when he did a term paper on this subject (which he is hoping to expand and get published). BTW, I still have the wind speed graphs from Lester showing the wind gusts. EPAC Katrina in 1967 followed a track that took it over remote areas so we don't know what it's winds were like but in all likelihood they could have been in Lester's category.

Steve

[boca]

THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY... UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...AS GENERAL TROFINESS DOMINATES THE WESTERN CONUS. PRESSURE GRADIENT EXPECTED TO TIGHTEN SIGNIFICANTLY COME FRIDAY...FOR BREEZY TO LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS CWA WIDE. COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH NEXT LOW WILL ALSO MOVE THROUGH THE REGION FRIDAY...ALONG WITH 40-50KT 700MB WIND SPEEDS. SKIES WILL REMAIN PARTLY SUNNY TO PARTLY CLOUDY...WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIP...MAINLY EAST OF THE VALLEY OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN FRI AFTERNOON/EVENING. CHANCE OF PRECIP INCREASES OVER THE WEEKEND...WITH THE BEST CHANCE FOR VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW OVERNIGHT SAT INTO SUN. BY THIS TIME...THE LOW CENTER WILL BE OVER CNTRL CA...WITH A DECENT SOUTHWEST FLOW INTO AZ. SEVERAL VORT LOBES WILL ROTATE THROUGH THE BOTTOM OF THE LOW...WITH 700-500MB OMEGA VALUES OF 25 MICROBARS/SECOND OVER S-CENTRAL AZ BY LATE SUN MORNING. THAT SAID...HAVE INCREASED THE POPS A BIT FOR THE WEEKEND TIME PERIOD...AND INCLUDED CHANCE FOR SNOW SHOWERS OVERNIGHT/EARLY MORNING HOURS ABOVE 4500 FT. TEMPS ACROSS THE WARMEST DESERT LOCALES WILL ALSO BE QUITE COOL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR...WITH AFTERNOON HIGHS IN THE LOW 60S. BY MON...THE LOW CENTER WILL DROP SOUTH AND EAST...WITH DOWNWARD MOTION FORECAST TO MOVE WESTWARD ACROSS THE CWA DURING THE DAY. WILL HOLD ON TO VERY LOW GRADE POPS MONDAY OVER SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY...PARTLY CLOUDY AND A BIT WARMER TEMPS EXPECTED ELSEWHERE. Hopefully some light at the end of the tunnel for Arizona.

[bob rulz]

You're in the midst of a very significant weather phenomenon- on-sight reports about such phenomena is part of what this board is about. Besides, we're getting into a boring time of the year weather wise, so keep the reports coming.

What? What do you mean a very boring time of the year weatherwise? March is one of the most interesting months!

[BReb]

What? What do you mean a very boring time of the year weatherwise? March is one of the most interesting months!

Depends on what you're interested in I guess. I'm a hurricane and southern US winter storm guy myself, and we don't get either of these this time of year.