Feeling pretty good about rain during the rest of July into early August

Don’t really need to explain this NOAA “ensembles of spaghetti” map anymore, so thought I’d just post it. Made me feel real good thinking about all the summer rain ahead in the next two weeks and how green it will be around here then.  The second greening of Arizona; its so great!

Valid at 5 PM AST, August 3rd. I think it would make a great summer T-shirt for you, too.
Valid at 5 PM AST, August 3rd. I think it would make a great summer  “I ‘heart’ spaghetti” T-shirt for you, too, maybe sleeveless using dry-fit cloth.  Still working out the details, of course.  When you want to make a LOT of money off a T-shirt, you want to get it right.

Yesterday’s clouds, in cast you missed them, especially the great sunrise:

5:27 AM. Altocumulus opacus.

 

5:28 AM. Unusual -for -summer Altocumulus lenticularis near the tops of the Catalina Moutains.
5:28 AM. Unusual -for -summer Altocumulus lenticularis near the tops of the Catalina Mountains.
11:30 AM. The perfect example of Cumulus humilis, those little acorns destined to grow into moderate-sized Cumulonimbus clouds with light-to-moderate showers yesterday afternoon.
11:30 AM. The perfect example of Cumulus humilis, those little acorns destined to grow into moderate-sized Cumulonimbus clouds with light-to-moderate showers yesterday afternoon. What was particularly great about yesterday was that we had our usual absolutely stunning visibility due to an absence of the early July smoky skies we saw day after day.
3:27 PM Light showers (Code 2 rainshaft; transparent one) drift across the Catalinas. Cloud too shallow here for lightning.
3:27 PM Light showers (Code 2 rainshaft; transparent one) drift across the Catalinas. Cloud too shallow here for lightning.
3:51 PM. Growth of those clouds continued as they moved SW toward Marana. The denser shaft means tops were far higher than they were for those clouds over the Catalinas.
3:51 PM. Growth of those clouds continued as they moved SW toward Marana. The denser shaft means tops were far higher than they were for those clouds over the Catalinas.  “Code 3” shaft, horizon barely visible through it.

The End.

Useless note:   Might have been 0.02 inches of rain early this morning, but then again, the tipped buckets might have been due to condensation this coolest morning (71 F) in the past few weeks.  Radar did have tiny echo going over….still, not sure it was “rain.”  But, heavy dew is good, too!  Non-recording gauge also had 0.02 inches, so I guess its was real “rain” not dew!  Mystery solved.

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.