Is the friggin' wind EVER gonna QUIT!

[azsnowman]

I SWEAR to God, if this dang wind doesn't quit, your gonna find ol snowman locked up in the looney bin for sure We have our normal spring winds but NEVER, EVER like this.......we have not had ONE stinkin' day without wind since JANUARY!!!! I've had more peak gusts over 60 MPH this spring than I ever have, right now, the winds kickin' up to 34 with even HIGHER gusts for tomorrow and Sunday

Dennis

[ColdFront77]

That is one thing I have never experienced, maximum sustained winds and higher gusts for days on end, even for over a day or two.

[breeze]

Nope, me either - we have gusts of 25 mph here, tonight,
but, I cannot say we've had them every day since
January!

[vbhoutex]

Dennis, are you guys getting any moisture at all or are you just drying up and blowing away??!! They might as well shut down the forests right now if there is to be anything left by Monsoon season!!

[azsnowman]

Nope, NO moisture, the snowpack that we had did NOTHING for the dry conditions, in fact, the Haines Index this morning is sitting at ".5%" , a normal Haines Index this time of year should be a 5-6. The Haines Index measures the moisture content in the fine fuels, the *duff* on the ground, limbs, pine needles etc. There is a wind in Holland, Demark and Norhern France called uh....the Mistrales (I THINK that's the spelling) more people commit suicide when those winds blow, it's 3 months of sustained winds of 60+ MPH..........I know that winds create negative ions in the atmosphere, hence putting people in *grouchy* moods, LIKE ME! "LOL!"

Dennis

[breeze]

...and, I always thought my grouchy attitude on windy days
was due to the wind messin' up my hair...!

Hang in there, Dennis!

[Aslkahuna]

the Mistral blows only in France-it is a cold Bora type wind that blows down the Rhône Valley in Southern France. If you have ever been there (like I have) you would notice that the trees there have been wind sculpted by the Mistral. In southern Germany we have the Föhn wind that is a warm dry downslope wind similar to the Santa Ana of SoCA. Here in SV we have the Canyon Winds (or Huachuca Mountain winds) which are also warm downslopers which can hit gusts of 80mph or more. The Bora is a cold downslope wind found in the Balkans and the Adriatic which funnels cold air out of the interior of Russia in the Winter. The Wasatch Canyon winds and Washoe winds (along with our Canyon Winds) are good examples of downslope winds initiated by the presence of storm systems (in the case of the Wasatch winds, a ULL to the South which can create winds in excess of 100 mph). The best example of a Föhn wind here in the US is the Chinook in the lee of Rockies which have been clocked at speeds exceeding 130mph in Boulder CO.

Here in AZ though, we experience most in the Spring (and we have yet to have our typically windiest month which is May) is a situation where we get intense heating and insolation. The Solar angle by the end of April is usually much higher than 60° and of course we have more hours of daylight than darkness. The skies are clear, the air is dry so we get maximum heating. By May and June the average mixing height is near the 500-600 mb level so we can couple up to winds at that level. In May and early June the STJ is over us so winds at the mixing level will be fairly strong so we get strong breezes at the surface. In the deserts, the winds will be in the 12-22mph range daily. Here at 4500' elevation we can plan on 15-30 mph winds almost daily and in the Whites the winds will be stronger since they can mix out higher. By late June when the maximum Solar angle reaches 82°, the ST High cell moves over us and the winds aloft are light so all we get is hot with only thermal winds (and dust devils operating). By July, the monsoon (usually) sets in with increased humidity, cloud cover and rainfall so then the winds are episodic and convective (except during monsoon breaks when it can get breezy again).

So, for AZSnow, no relief until mid June at the earliest and since I think our monsoon will be late starting maybe not even then.

Steve
8)

[azsnowman]

woohoo here we go AGAIN!!!! Ya know, I'm truly beginning to believe that the wind is NEVER, EVER gonna quit!

Enter Your "City, ST"
WIND ADVISORY
applies to multiple areas: 1 2 3

NON PRECIPITATION STATEMENT

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
applies to multiple areas: 1

RED FLAG WARNING

FIRE WEATHER WATCH

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WIND ADVISORY
BLACK MESA AREA-CHINLE VALLEY-CHUSKA MOUNTAINS AND DEFIANCE PLATEAU-
KAIBAB PLATEAU-LITTLE COLORADO RVR VLY IN APACHE CO-
LITTLE COLORADO RVR VLY IN COCONINO CO-
LITTLE COLORADO RVR VLY IN NAVAJO CO-MARBLE AND GLEN CANYONS-
NORTHEAST PLATEAU AND MESAS SOUTH OF 264-
NORTHEAST PLATEAUS AND MESAS 264 NORTH-WESTERN MOGOLLON RIM-
WHITE MOUNTAINS-
430 AM MST SAT MAY 3 2003

...WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM MST UNTIL 8 PM MST...

SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 45 MPH
WILL DEVELOP LATER THIS MORNING AND CONTINUE UNTIL THE EARLY EVENING
HOURS. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST AND SAND WITH REDUCED VISIBILITY WILL BE
POSSIBLE WITH THESE STRONG WINDS.



Dennis

[Stephanie]

I'm sorry to read about the wind Dennis and all of our AZ friends.

[azsnowman]

"HOLY CHIT!" Just clocked a gust over 63 MPH here at the house :o :o Show Low Muni is reporting gusts over 46 at the moment!

Dennis 8)