Are Severe Thunderstorms like this normal ----even for monsoon season (Phoenix: home, live)

[Beena]

Yes the temp did plummet 30 degrees in about 10 minutes. From 105 to 75.

That would be like if you were freezing your axx off in Chicago or Denver in January and suddenly it was 85 Aint happenin. But you can pretend you are Phx.

[Steve-o]

Never have I seen so many people get so excited over rain before. I can tell many of you have been in AZ for too long.

j/k


Monsoons are cool. Ive only been able to witness one in all my travels to AZ, it was pretty cool. But, thank goodness you get them to keep the Sonoran the most "lush" desert in the world.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Beena

Yes the temp did plummet 30 degrees in about 10 minutes. From 105 to 75.

That would be like if you were freezing your axx off in Chicago or Denver in January and suddenly it was 85 Aint happenin. But you can pretend you are Phx.

Happened last winter. Went from 35 to 65, but not in 10 minutes, it took several hours. Then of course the massive temp swing brought nasty storms, even some sporadic tornadoes in places.

[aj661]

We didn't get squat in far east Mesa last night, just enough to turn the dust on the cars into mud. Ch3 news reported almost 2 inches at their station last night alone.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

Here is an article about this year's monsoon season...

As of yesterday, we were officially at 2.78", which was just barely more then the average of 2.77". However, after tonight, it looks like we will be at least to 3.53", which would be the wettest monsoon season of this decade.

This summer monsoon is the wettest since 1999, and the eighth wettest monsoon on record so far. It's hard to compare what's normal to a specific year because the last eight summers (except 2006) were drier than normal. I think one of the reasons this summer has been stormier than normal is the effects of La Niña. Here, a La Niña weather pattern often means a stronger monsoonal flow, but it also can mean a drier than normal winter ... while El Niño usually means a wetter winter & drier summer.

Unless we are somehow entering a wetter climatic period, I believe many of those extensively hot, dry summers of the last few years will become the norm due mostly to the heat island effect. A summer like this might be the exception.

[Finger Laker]

another thing to consider is what is the monsoon?

we had some storms earlier in july which may not of been listed before because this is the first year with a true hard date on when the monsoon starts

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

another thing to consider is what is the monsoon?

we had some storms earlier in july which may not of been listed before because this is the first year with a true hard date on when the monsoon starts

It used to be that the monsoon offically started when the average dew point reached 55 degrees or higher for three consecutive days. In Phoenix, this normally happens sometime during the second week of July. Usually, the heavier storms often don't strike until the latter part of July, and into August. Often, July can be a pretty dry month here ... but this year the official July rain total was 2.15 inches. That's more than an inch above normal.

That's one reason this monsoon is heavier than usual. The higher dew points were making their presence in late June ... and by July 2nd, it was officially the monsoon (under the old guidelines). Also, the heavier storms came in during the early to middle part of July. Record daily rainfall totals were recorded at Sky Harbor Int'l twice in July, and they both occurred before July 15th. This is quite unusual.

As for the official start/end dates of the monsoon, I still think June 15th is too early to declare a start to the season. However, I also believe that the old dew point method of determining the start of the season needed to be changed as well. So I guess the NWS had to come up with something.

[NytoPhx]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

Yea, it's usually in the evening hours. I think it has to do with the temps dropping slightly after the sun goes down...it's just the right mix of moisture and temperatures.

And I agree...it should be a great monsoon season by the time it's all said and done. I mean we're at 3.61" as of right now...there is still rain out there tonight, and another storm is predicted for tomorrow evening. We could really see 4.5 - 5.0+ inches of rain this summer, which would be great!

I wonder how we're doing with total rainfall for the year?

The predictions here are pretty awful, until right before the fact. Almost all the time when they predict a thunderstorm it doesn't happen, and rains a lot of days when they don't predict anything. For a desert though, I didn't expect there to be so much rain, but I've only been here since the beginning of June, and I can already recall at least 6 heavy rain storms and maybe 10-15 days with some rain, and considering winter is the rainier season, this is not a typical desert.

[NytoPhx]

Another question I had, is this a cooler than normal summer??? Other than my first week here in mid June when it was over 110 for a week straight, I can only recall several days of 110 degree temperatures. Seriously, the amount of talk about the heat here scared me for no reason. I guess I have a high tolerance for heat, but I don't think it is that bad at all. Granted I wouldn't want to run a marathon outside, but for regular day-to-day activities it is certainly tolerable and if this is the "bad weather" season, it can no way compete with a winter in the majority of the country. In terms of the discomfort scale, winters in much of the country are far, far worse, take it from me, who isn't "used to" to the desert heat at all.

[ibarrio]

Much cooler then last summer..that's for sure.