When will this monsoon nonsense end? (Phoenix, Tucson: buy, flooding, humidity)

[ScottsdaleMark]

It looks like this was one of the more widespread events of the monsoon season.

Click on this link then click "one day" or whatever time period.

Personally I received 0.25" overnight on my weather station, some pretty strong rain 8-9 pm. Not too much lightning but did get some thunder.

I know our friends in the West Valley often get the short end of the stick in terms of monsoonal rainfall so I was glad to see them get some nice totals out that way.

[Potential_Landlord]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Today might be it, the end of the monsoon 2015. Meteorologically speaking that is, as the weather service uses a calendar date now. We will walk out on Tuesday/Wednesday morning to go to work and say "what? it's gorgeous out here this morning." And all will be right with the world again. Time to go shopping for those Halloween decorations. Halloween decorating is a big thing here (in some neighborhoods) if you are new. I think it is because of the rush we get over the end of summer. (Elle Tea excepted, of course

That sounds just awesome!!! Yeah, can't wait!

[observer53]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Got some more rain last night in Scottsdale, along with nasty humidity. Anyone else get rain in the Valley last night?

South Tempe starting around 9:00. Nice, steady rain but not hard, I actually went out and stood in it for awhile.

[Potential_Landlord]

Seriously if we dry out now and temperatures go below 100F and 80F at night it will be a huge relief for me. I function so much better at lower temperatures, particularly at the end of the long summer. Good times ahead!

[BIG CATS]

Got hit again hard last night in Scottsdale. Trees down, streets full of mud... good times! We had lots of high wind, butt tons of lightning, and our power flickered on and off several times, too.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Got hit again hard last night in Scottsdale. Trees down, streets full of mud... good times! We had lots of high wind, butt tons of lightning, and our power flickered on and off several times, too.

Monsoon... refusing to leave, unless it's kicking & screaming!

[kttam186290]

The monsoon is over. The Low Pressure system that swept into Southern California off the Pacific Ocean and brought cool air and rain today will be making it's way into Arizona later tonight and will effectively cut off the monsoon pattern.

This doesn't mean, however, that more "monsoon-like" weather won't arrive later in September or October. The big "wild card" this year is El Nino, which could spawn powerful Pacific hurricanes all the way through November, and send some of their moisture northward to create rain and thunderstorms over Southern California and Arizona.

So, while the monsoon may be at a meteorological end, don't assume the rain and thunderstorms are gone for good. Most likely, they're not.

[ashpelham]

I'd like to cordially invite all of you to Alabama for a few months of the year.....

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

The monsoon is over. The Low Pressure system that swept into Southern California off the Pacific Ocean and brought cool air and rain today will be making it's way into Arizona later tonight and will effectively cut off the monsoon pattern.

This doesn't mean, however, that more "monsoon-like" weather won't arrive later in September or October. The big "wild card" this year is El Nino, which could spawn powerful Pacific hurricanes all the way through November, and send some of their moisture northward to create rain and thunderstorms over Southern California and Arizona.

So, while the monsoon may be at a meteorological end, don't assume the rain and thunderstorms are gone for good. Most likely, they're not.

Shazam, Kttam! Sounds good to me. Looking forward to your continued meteorological reports!

[Belmont_Boy]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

You guys have no idea what you're talking about. Hurricane's cause deaths and real damage. I live in South Florida and still hear horror stories from people during Wilma and Andrew. It literally changed the community here. You don't want a hurricane either. People were genuinely terrified 2 weeks ago and were going to the grocery stores and storing water and other goods. People were canceling appointments and planning to close schools etc. It's not a joke. We are lucky to live in Arizona and not have those.

First of all, there are very few people currently living in South Florida who experienced Hurricane Wilma and even fewer who experienced Hurricane Andrew.

Consistent with the Phoenix area, South Florida is a highly transient area with few locals who live there for more than 3-5 years.

Furthermore, most people who survived Hurricane Andrew, the damage of which was primarily concentrated in southern Dade around Homestead and Florida City (not a very populous area relative to the South Florida metro area), and chose not to rebuild, moved north to Broward and Palm Beach, or out to Collier.

Collier and Palm Beach were affected by the "Unholy Trinity" of 2004 (i.e., Charley, Frances and Jeanne). The following year, both Broward and Palm Beach sustained a pretty serious blow from Wilma.

Remember, the very active 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons occurred during the height of the real estate bubble, so those who didn't leave the state after Andrew, left after Wilma. Many people who never even experienced Andrew and only Wilma, left after Wilma, too.

Despite the series of intense hurricanes and tropical storms, real estate values in Florida were at an all-time high in 2004-2005, and lots of natives, long-time locals and even people who had only been there 5-10 years "cashed out," so to speak, and moved up to areas with cheaper housing, such as Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and, to a lesser extent, Arizona and Nevada.

In essence, it was the perfect window of opportunity for a lot of people, whether they were directly affected by the storms or not, to get the Hell out of Dodge. And they did, many who have never returned.

And as someone who lived in South Florida from 2010-2012 and who has had family living in Florida since 1980, I can assure you that people are, by no means, "genuinely terrified" of hurricanes, especially now more than ever, given that it's going on 10 years since a major hurricane made landfall in the state - quite possibly the longest span of time without a hurricane landfall since weather records began in the state.

To be quite honest, I think the reverse is - frighteningly - true. Judging my social media posts, it seems as though lots of People, including my family and friends, take hurricane warnings a little too lightly. Most seem more preoccupied with getting drunk during "hurricane parties" than actually preparing for and safely riding out the storm.

For example, I have a girlfriend who moved to Florida in 2006, which was 9 years ago, and has yet to experience a Florida hurricane. She, like lots of other transplants who have arrived within the last 10 years, have little to no psyche around intense hurricanes and tropical storms and preparing for such and just brushes off hurricane warnings.

That's not a good thing, IMO, but seems to be prevailing attitude that's developed over the past 10 years around hurricanes.

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

No, they are not. I live in Miami and was in Phoenix last weekend. Phoenix summers are dry relatively speaking. In fact, South Florida didn't receive as much rain this summer and their summers felt like Phoenix summers during some weeks. The dry element makes the Phoenix heat much more tolerable. In fact, there were days here and days in Phoenix in August, in which it felt no different because of the humidity here. I would tell my friends and say "How does that feel" and they would say, yeah it's hot outside. And I would tell them that's what Phoenix felt like last weekend and they were surprised because of Phoenix triple digits. Dry heat makes all the difference in the world. It's psychological. You can transplant that same Phoenix weather here and no one would have complained or made an issue of it. But because it's Phoenix, any opportunity to complain will cause someone to comment one way or the other. Usually, we get so little rain that people will whine about the heat and lack of rain. Now that we got some rain, you have people who will say it's more humid than advertised. It's part of the same cult-like obssession some people have with the heat in Phoenix. People just somehow have this fetish with complaining about the heat.

What surprised me is how much rain Phoenix seemed to get in August.

You are wrong on so many levels. People in Phoenix complain about the summertime heat because it *IS* oppressive - there's absolutely no denying it.

What other major city in the US regularly experiences 105-115 daily temperature maximums from May to September? Vegas, maybe, but even Vegas isn't as consistently hot as Phoenix. That, plus being situated so much farther away from the Sea of Cortez, they don't get the same level of monsoonal moisture, either. Thank God.

I don't know about you, but daily average high temps between 105 and 110 in the summer months is disgustingly hot - humid or not - and is extremely dangerous, in particular for the elderly and people with breathing issues.

And no, South Florida summers are much more bearable than summers in Phoenix.

You're living in a fool's paradise.