Well, when there’s no rain in the model predictions for 15 days, you have to get excited about something…. Like a solar flare, there has been another massive ejection of high clouds from the equatorial region and its heading toward Catalina, AZ. Here, from the Washington Huskies Weather Department1, is a 24 h loop… Continue reading Another big Cirrus streamer from the Equator heading our way!
Category: Aerosols
July 2012: 15 days with measurable rain (with three traces); adds up to 4.45 inches!
And we were one of the drier areas! Many places around us were between 5-10 inches this July making it a pretty memorable one and the 6th wettest July in Catalina since 1977. Here’s the list of those wettest for Catalina: 1. July 2006 7.22 inches 11 days with measurable rain 2. July… Continue reading July 2012: 15 days with measurable rain (with three traces); adds up to 4.45 inches!
Dusty sunset
In case you missed it, due to all the dust, yesterday’s sunset: Moreover, if you go to the NWS Tucson site and the forecast for Catalinaland, you will see icons showing pretty much the same thing for today and tomorrow as is in these photos. It will be interesting to see how deep the dust gets.… Continue reading Dusty sunset
Cirrus altocumulus castellano-floccogenitus
We had a rare form of Cirrus yesterday, whose name I have made up in the title as a hint of where they came from, due to the very high altitude and low temperatures of some Altocumulus yesterday. Those Ac morphed to Cirrus, hence the strange, unpronounceable title. Reminder, weatherscience mavens, its more proper… Continue reading Cirrus altocumulus castellano-floccogenitus
What’s up? Smoke, most likely
You may have noticed, if you’re from around here, that we did not exactly have an “Arizona Highways sky” yesterday. The sky was an awful whitish color tinged with blue (I’m fussy here). Below are examples of smog from the ground and from satellite. from yesterday afternoon. (Where there are clouds, BTW, the satellite can’t… Continue reading What’s up? Smoke, most likely
Yesterday’s clouds, dust, and smoke; virga ahead
It was zero visibility in Parhrump, Nevada, yesterday afternoon with wind gusts to 85 mph, as the cold front was about to crash on by. I guess we were lucky to only have 40-50 mph puffs of wind here in Catalinaland overnight, and not so much dust (yet). A sharp, but dry cold front… Continue reading Yesterday’s clouds, dust, and smoke; virga ahead
Nice temperatures; bad sky
That was an awful sky for Arizona yesterday. Thank heavens those kinds of days are rare here. Here are a few more shots of that rare smoky layer day yesterday, including one at sunset where you can see some undulations in the layer. You may have noticed that as the day wore on, the… Continue reading Nice temperatures; bad sky
Smoke layer aloft today
If you got up today, or even late yesterday afternoon, and got a feeling that the sky was “not right”, you were right! We have a well-mixed smoke layer above us, “well-mixed” meaning you don’t see any gradations in it. That in turn, means its been up there for a LONG time, and the gradations… Continue reading Smoke layer aloft today
Dark clouds but no rain yesterday. What happened?
Quick answer: 1) drops too small to coalesce and form ones bigger ones ; 2) no ice in ’em, for the most part. Read below if you want a LONG discussion about yesterday; dull photos way below Let’s talk about it, though probably more than you want to. You’re probably a little down because it… Continue reading Dark clouds but no rain yesterday. What happened?
So Seattle
Seattle nostalgia part Got a little homesick yesterday with the weather the way it was here in Catalina. Well, after 32 years in Seattle it seemed like home. The dank, gray, low-hanging, lifeless, overcast skies of Stratus and Stratocumulus clouds hour after hour (spoken with emphasis on each descriptor using a whiney kind of emotional… Continue reading So Seattle