Monsoon 2012 Predictions for the Phoenix Area (pollution, suburbs, summer)

[PoppySead]

This isn't the monsoon yet, but gives ya that lovin feeling. lol

[maverick974]

East Mesa here. 202 and Brown. Lots of wind and blowing dust. My pool was a mess. lol.
Wind died down after an hour or so, I swept and brushed the pool and now life is good again.

[Xica_da_Silva]

Last year I was such a heat-wimp, but so far this year I feel like a champ: 'Bring it on!' I bluster in my imagined self-image, as I sit in my air-conditioned study with the fan running. But will my swagger survive through the swelter and September swoon? It's so easy, isn't it, to feel cocky in June?!

Seriously, though, I imagine my ancestors on my grandmother's side, who were pioneers (some might say invaders, but please let's leave politics aside for now) traveling westward...wagons, wind, dust, heat. And tangible, ever-present, immediate fears, circling the wagons, circling the wagons, waiting for something to go wrong. Think of them what you will but they must have had a certain toughness that I lack. I wish I could conjure it at will. For all our modern fear of nuclear obliteration and even terrorism, these dangers somehow seem remote in comparison, living here in our dusty, laid-back village of millions. Swimming pools, AC, and ice-skating rinks. Let's face it: we've got it easy.

And then I think of our soldiers, somewhere out there in God knows what dusty backwater of Afghanistan, carrying heavy equipment, having to worry about roadside bombs, and the loved ones they left at home. Who am I to complain? And yet I am weak, so forgive me if I do. My madness I blame on the heat!

Thus, I pray for the wettest of wet monsoons this season, a deluge of Cambodian proportions, of mud and flood (albeit it with no property destruction, no hail, no stuck vehicles or passengers, please, but awesome non-harmful lightning for our desert photographers, yes, that would be nice!). Let the sopping Bermuda grass reign supreme (you know it wants to!), let it encroach and roam freely over our chalky, cracked feet, our park benches, and pavers as if it were creating some desert version of Angkor Wat. I beseech the Rain Gods for the gallons to stream the dust from my car, to dissolve the corrosive salts that eat at my trees, to slop my perfectly coiffed hair that I spent 30 minutes blow-drying for no apparent reason. I hereby petition the clouds to stop hoarding their liquid bounties, to grow dark, plump, and bloated, and to hover like helicopters over CenPho, as if they were a fire crew dumping bladderfulls of relief on our infernal rooftops. I want them to spend and pi$$ like John McCain's drunken sailors; in short, I want them to be Epic-Diluvial. So epic that they make the national news in Cambodia, or Seattle, or...at the very least, that they cause the start of a new thread right here on the Phoenix CD!

[PoppySead]

Originally Posted by Xica_da_Silva

Last year I was such a heat-wimp, but so far this year I feel like a champ: 'Bring it on!' I bluster in my imagined self-image, as I sit in my air-conditioned study with the fan running. But will my swagger survive through the swelter and September swoon? It's so easy, isn't it, to feel cocky in June?!

Seriously, though, I imagine my ancestors on my grandmother's side, who were pioneers (some might say invaders, but please let's leave politics aside for now) traveling westward...wagons, wind, dust, heat. And tangible, ever-present, immediate fears, circling the wagons, circling the wagons, waiting for something to go wrong. Think of them what you will but they must have had a certain toughness that I lack. I wish I could conjure it at will. For all our modern fear of nuclear obliteration and even terrorism, these dangers somehow seem remote in comparison, living here in our dusty, laid-back village of millions. Swimming pools, AC, and ice-skating rinks. Let's face it: we've got it easy.

And then I think of our soldiers, somewhere out there in God knows what dusty backwater of Afghanistan, carrying heavy equipment, having to worry about roadside bombs, and the loved ones they left at home. Who am I to complain? And yet I am weak, so forgive me if I do. My madness I blame on the heat!

Thus, I pray for the wettest of wet monsoons this season, a deluge of Cambodian proportions, of mud and flood (albeit it with no property destruction, no hail, no stuck vehicles or passengers, please, but awesome non-harmful lightning for our desert photographers, yes, that would be nice!). Let the sopping Bermuda grass reign supreme (you know it wants to!), let it encroach and roam freely over our chalky, cracked feet, our park benches, and pavers as if it were creating some desert version of Angkor Wat. I beseech the Rain Gods for the gallons to stream the dust from my car, to dissolve the corrosive salts that eat at my trees, to slop my perfectly coiffed hair that I spent 30 minutes blow-drying for no apparent reason. I hereby petition the clouds to stop hoarding their liquid bounties, to grow dark, plump, and bloated, and to hover like helicopters over CenPho, as if they were a fire crew dumping bladderfulls of relief on our infernal rooftops. I want them to spend and pi$$ like John McCain's drunken sailors; in short, I want them to be Epic-Diluvial. So epic that they make the national news in Cambodia, or Seattle, or...at the very least, that they cause the start of a new thread right here on the Phoenix CD!

Wow, now I need a cigarette. lol
Nice post

[jimj]

Originally Posted by PoppySead

Wow, now I need a cigarette. lol
Nice post

And a drink... Whew!! lol

[robcin]

What's going on with all the dust storms in phoenix? It seems like you guys are really having a lot of these storms since last year and it seems to be carrying over into this year. Why is this happening? Does anybody know? Just wondering because they look really eery!!! Be careful everyone. Have a good summer and try to stay cool!!

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by robcin

What's going on with all the dust storms in phoenix? It seems like you guys are really having a lot of these storms since last year and it seems to be carrying over into this year. Why is this happening? Does anybody know? Just wondering because they look really eery!!! Be careful everyone. Have a good summer and try to stay cool!!

There's nothing unusual about seasonal dust storms in Phoenix, and they're not "carrying over."

[Shadow Dude]

Originally Posted by TiredOfyycCold

I just looked at the 14 day forecast as we are heading down next Wednesday and it's forecast to hit 122 degrees on June 27th

It rare to hit 120+ on Earth. Plus forecasting for temperature is only reliable for about 72 hours into the future, anything after that is fair at best.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by Shadow Dude

It rare to hit 120+ on Earth. Plus forecasting for temperature is only reliable for about 72 hours into the future, anything after that is fair at best.

I beg to differ, it seems there are many places on this rock we call home that regularly hit and exceed 120 degrees. As for the "extended" forecasts even 72 hours is a stretch.

Death Valley, California-This hot area in California can regularly reach temperatures of 134 degrees and can be found in the Mojave Desert.

Dasht-e Lut, Iran- This hottest place is also known for its salt flats, its high dunes, and the distinct possibility that no living creature can possibly survive here. Temperatures here can reach well past 150 degrees
.
Rub’Al Khali, Saudi Arabia-The temperatures in this hottest place on Earth can often reach more than 130 degrees, making it incredibly inhospitable to most forms of life (except for a few).

Tirat Zvi, Israel-This hottest area, which can regularly reach temperatures of over 120 degrees

[S. Chris Webb]

Originally Posted by Xica_da_Silva

Last year I was such a heat-wimp, but so far this year I feel like a champ: 'Bring it on!' I bluster in my imagined self-image, as I sit in my air-conditioned study with the fan running. But will my swagger survive through the swelter and September swoon? It's so easy, isn't it, to feel cocky in June?!

Seriously, though, I imagine my ancestors on my grandmother's side, who were pioneers (some might say invaders, but please let's leave politics aside for now) traveling westward...wagons, wind, dust, heat. And tangible, ever-present, immediate fears, circling the wagons, circling the wagons, waiting for something to go wrong. Think of them what you will but they must have had a certain toughness that I lack. I wish I could conjure it at will. For all our modern fear of nuclear obliteration and even terrorism, these dangers somehow seem remote in comparison, living here in our dusty, laid-back village of millions. Swimming pools, AC, and ice-skating rinks. Let's face it: we've got it easy.

And then I think of our soldiers, somewhere out there in God knows what dusty backwater of Afghanistan, carrying heavy equipment, having to worry about roadside bombs, and the loved ones they left at home. Who am I to complain? And yet I am weak, so forgive me if I do. My madness I blame on the heat!

Thus, I pray for the wettest of wet monsoons this season, a deluge of Cambodian proportions, of mud and flood (albeit it with no property destruction, no hail, no stuck vehicles or passengers, please, but awesome non-harmful lightning for our desert photographers, yes, that would be nice!). Let the sopping Bermuda grass reign supreme (you know it wants to!), let it encroach and roam freely over our chalky, cracked feet, our park benches, and pavers as if it were creating some desert version of Angkor Wat. I beseech the Rain Gods for the gallons to stream the dust from my car, to dissolve the corrosive salts that eat at my trees, to slop my perfectly coiffed hair that I spent 30 minutes blow-drying for no apparent reason. I hereby petition the clouds to stop hoarding their liquid bounties, to grow dark, plump, and bloated, and to hover like helicopters over CenPho, as if they were a fire crew dumping bladderfulls of relief on our infernal rooftops. I want them to spend and pi$$ like John McCain's drunken sailors; in short, I want them to be Epic-Diluvial. So epic that they make the national news in Cambodia, or Seattle, or...at the very least, that they cause the start of a new thread right here on the Phoenix CD!

What this post needs is just a little more cowbell.