Green of the 2013 below normal rainfall summer in Catalina, plus the usual glut of interesting cloud photos

Trying to adjust “working” schedule to accomodate exede.com data choke hold after 5 AM…

Here in the “The Heights” we’ve only had about 4 inches of rain so far in July and August, compared to a normal of about 7 inches.  Still the recent five days in a row of measurable rain have brought life and flying ant swarms back to the desert.  Great to see, well, maybe not all of it. From yesterday morning these shots:

DSCN5391
7:37 AM.  Grasses are rebounding as they can in the free range lands.
DSCN5416
Height of desert grasses where no cattle can go.  Camera hog horse, takes a munching break to insure it gets a face shot.
DSCN5417
8:10 AM near the Sutherland Wash. Doesn’t compare to last year’s growth with nearly 8 inches of July August rain, still, it was nice to see.
DSCN5424
8:29 AM. Riparian scene at the Big Rock tributary to the Sutherland Wash. There was no water, though.
SONY DSC
1:26 PM. Early afternoon downspout mostly N of Saddlebrooke. Another great sight. There were numerous ones around, but as this summer has gone, none blasted “The Heights.” Only a trace of rain was recorded.
2:09 PM. Photo of shaft with some ill advised advice written on it.
2:09 PM. Photo of shaft with some ill advised advice written on it along with an arrow.
3:07 PM. There were several nice deluges on the Catalinas yesterday. (Can a deluge be nice?). Anyway, this one looks to have inflated the water in the Romero Falls area.
3:07 PM. There were several nice deluges on the Catalinas yesterday. (Can a deluge be nice?). Anyway, this one looks to have inflated the water in the Romero Falls area.
4:12 PM. What was especially great about yesterday was that the showers re-building over the mountains. Here, in the same exact spot as the one an hour earlier except the next ridge over, a new shower has formed.
4:12 PM. What was especially great about yesterday was that the showers re-building over the mountains. Here, in the same exact spot as the one an hour earlier, a new shower has formed. It was a day that just wouldn’t quit.  As darkness fell, still another complex with vivid lightning moved over the same area.
4:23 PM. Marana storm trudges westward to bombard Dove Mountain area.
4:23 PM. Marana storm trudges westward to bombard Dove Mountain area.
5:31 PM. In spite of all the cool air around, another complex of thunderheads appears to the ESE in the upwind direction. It just kept giving yesterday.
5:31 PM. In spite of all the cool air around at this time, the many showers, another complex of thunderheads boils up to the ESE in the upwind direction. It just kept giving yesterday. This is the one that about an hour later produced the vivid lightning, with most of the rain falling again toward Catalina State Park.  Shaft pretty much obscured lights down that way when it rolled in.

The End, except it looks a little drier today, but then, it was supposed to be a little drier yesterday, and really wasn’t.

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.