About real clouds, weather, cloud seeding and science autobio life stories by WMO consolation prize-winning meteorologist, Art Rangno
Catalina, Florida, USA
Dewpoints above dry ground yesterday of about 70 F at 3000 feet elelvation? Yep, that’s just like Florida air if you could be in it at 3,000 feet. And we had Florida-like clouds yesterday, too, with their warm bases, around 15 C (59 F) in the morning–remember how important warm bottoms are for a big rain dump. Warmer cloud bases mean more water up top.
After a couple of grizzily, grudgingly humid days with no rain very close by, we finally got that explosive, much greater coverage of huge Cumulonimbus clouds and some rain yesterday. Only 0.06 inches here though. Oh, well. Lets be happy for well-watered others, if grudgingly.
The cloud signs that the day was going to be very different from the previous two humid “dry” days were there early. The first thunder was heard at 11:45 AM, as one cloud piled into the upper troposphere on top of Mt. Ms. Lemmon just an hour after the first photo below. Those Lemmon drops produced 1.38 inches at the Pima County ALERT gage there, but a Summerhaven private gage reported 2.46 inches after several storms in the afternoon!
Pima County rainfall table Most: Avra Valley area, Michigan and Calgary Streets, 2.13 inches.
Later yesterday day, these, a collection of my favorite moments, ones I hope you caught, too. In case you forgot to log these events, I have filled in some appropriate “novella-sized” captions for you. I don’t mind if you copy them down as though you had written them yourself… Also, don’t forget to review the awesome U of AZ time lapse movie here, to fill in any other gaps you might have. Now these photos are going to be kind of scattered around but in that sense, reflect the writer’s eccentricities, and because he hasn’t got time to straighten them out.
In the meantime, more Cumulonimbus clouds form quickly over the Catalinas, but just as quickly fade, the rain getting closer, but only sprinkles have gotten to Catalina by late afternoon. Then another surprise!
Today?
OK, have spent some silly time here, now, looking out window, bases low on the Catalinas again. Dewpoints very high. Seems like it should erupt again IF the atmos structure above these clouds is anywhere close to yesterday. Let’s see what the best, Bob, has to say here. Oops, he’s not up yet, but he is the true guru of Cumulonimbus and such that we have here. Be sure to check back soon!
Sounding from TUS this morning makes it look like its a “go” for giant clouds again, bases as warm as yesterday, if not a little warmer. Egad, flash flood size.
Finally, U of AZ late night model here also says there’ll be a big day. Charge camera batteries.
The End, finally.
By 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.