Author: Art Rangno

Retiree from a group specializing in airborne measurements of clouds and aerosols at the University of Washington (Cloud and Aerosol Research Group). The projects in which I participated were in many countries; from the Arctic to Brazil, from the Marshall Islands to South Africa.

Trick and treat sunset yesterday evening

Late yesterday afternoon, the sun appeared to be setting in the wrong location, about 20-25 degrees south of where it is supposed to be at this time of year.  Perhaps something horrible had happened, I thought.  Retirement with a happy ending here in Arizona was too good to be true, I thought, and now it… Continue reading Trick and treat sunset yesterday evening

First “storm” in the series, a trace of rain!

While taking the dogs out for their daily jaunt over the equestrian trails hereabouts yesterday morning, I was fortunate enough to experience several tiny drops of rain at 7:10 AM.  Rubbed a couple off the dusty car windows to be sure it was happening, it was THAT slight!   It lasted for maybe 15 minutes.… Continue reading First “storm” in the series, a trace of rain!

More about holes-in-clouds while we’re waiting for the AZ rain in a few days

There have been a coupla comments on that aircraft effect in clouds blog of a coupla weeks ago and so I thought I would follow up with this sequence from the Atmos Sci Building rooftop at the University of Washington where I spent most of my time instead of at my desk.1 Here is a… Continue reading More about holes-in-clouds while we’re waiting for the AZ rain in a few days

Rain on model horizon. Yay, possibly, for spring wildflowers.

Thinking about wildflowers today, and prospects for a good bloom hereabouts are dimming.  But, rain is now showing up on the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) GFS models on Thursday, Sunday, and again after the following Wednesday (can be seen here).  I am so excited!  Maybe this time these model depictions of rain in… Continue reading Rain on model horizon. Yay, possibly, for spring wildflowers.

Weathering extremes: what goes around comes around

Some brutal storms over the past year or so, such as the recent one that dropped 1-2 feet of snow from Tulsa to Chicago and beyond with sometimes hurricane force winds, have been labeled with all sorts of monikers, “Frankenstorm”, “snowmageddon”, etc.,  to emphasize how bad, and perhaps, how unique they were.  Some incautious observers have… Continue reading Weathering extremes: what goes around comes around

24 h of temperature infamy, Catalina, AZ

What an awful past 24 h here in “Catland”!  We’ve not only had low, perhaps, unprecedented low temperatures for a day with full sun, but also a noxious 15-30 mph north wind.  (Why didn’t we retire to Kauai where we would never be this cold????!!!  Just kidding, sort of.) In some quarters(such as in a… Continue reading 24 h of temperature infamy, Catalina, AZ