Cloudy Phoenix (scorpions, school, moving to)

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I hear it rained last night at Sky Harbor. The drought is over! 103 days. No rain where it matters, though - in my back yard. And the last rain was earlier than Aug 23 or whatever at the airport. I've taken to watering my gravel to hold down the dust.

There was thunder over my house last night, though it took me a minute to realize that was what it was. Shortly before I had some very light sprinkles on my windshield while driving but dismissed it as the guy in front of me cleaning his windshield

[tijlover]

I love the clouds most in winter when it turns cold, particularly at night. Compare: No clouds in the sky and it gets down to 42 at night, and 42 with a thick cloud cover. The clouds act like a blanket!

When I lived in Minnesota, what made it more tolerable in winter was the never-ending cloud cover. Cloud-free nights at 30 degrees! Yikes!

Clouds are most hated, unwanted in the Southwest in summer, on top of 100 degree temps!

[KurtAZ]

Why would you say clouds are hated in Summer? They provide a reprieve from the unrelenting direct sunshine? Sorry...I seek as much shade in the summer as possible. Besides, clouds in the Summer are accompanied by lower temps and possibility of rain. If there is enough humidity in the atmosphere to create clouds, the chances for a monsoon are pretty good.

[wase4711]

its interesting how varied the weather is in the valley;
here in the NW valley, the last 2 mornings we have had almost hurricane like winds in the AM; yesterday, gusts easily over 50 mph, and this morning almost as strong, yet when calling my friends in Snotsdale both days, they said there was no wind at all...we had some wet streets this am, so I guess we got a little rain last night, and you could actually "smell" that it had rained, but I know that didnt happen everywhere...Yesterday afternoon, the clouds that moved in and out actually looked like "winter" type clouds that I am used to in the Midwest.
Even though many folks that dont live here think the desert climate is just boring and predictable, I am finding just the opposite so far.
I'm just hoping I never see snow and temps below zero ever again, unless I head North to Flag or GC..

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by wase4711

.
Even though many folks that dont live here think the desert climate is just boring and predictable, I am finding just the opposite so far.

We just had 103 days without rain. Id say that's fairly predictable. Now that winter is here, it can get pretty wild sometimes, with monster rainfalls and high winds, but that's usually reserved for monsoon season. I saw flurries in Scottsdale 2 years back.

[wase4711]

yeah, you've got a point about the last 100 days or so, although, at least in my neck of the woods, there have been a quite a few days lately with high winds, unique skies/clouds, and such, but aside from a couple of weeks ago, when it drizzled twice for about 30 seconds at a time, there has been no real "weather" of any sort..
I wish there was a reasonably accurate weather forecast/report out here in the NW Valley, because the winds/clouds/temps out here are alot different from what I see on the TV weather reports...I recently planted a couple of frost sensitive plants, including a Madagascar palm tree, and I want to make sure I cover them up before I go to bed if frost is coming out here in the next couple of days....

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

Look...it is the weather...and winter (almost) in Phoenix. Yes, it gets cloudy, overcast, we get cold snaps and usually about once a year, a freeze warning. It has snowed in Phoenix, not much but it has. This is the Desert. It is really hot in the summer and gets cold in the winter. Not Snow belt cold, but cold. So it is cloudy for a few days...I'll take the reprieve from the constant sunshine especially after the warmest November on record.

Completely agree, especially about the reprieves from constant sunshine. The sun can get about as monotonous here as the cloudy drizzly weather in Seattle, the snow in Buffalo, or the oppressive humidity in the southern U.S. Too much of anything isn't good, including the 100+ rainless days which began in August. That translates to no snow in the high country which translates to tinder dry conditions, and no runoff for the reservoirs/water supply. It also means more dust & pollution here. But who cares? As long as the sun freaks get their sunshine every single day, they'll be happy.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I hear it rained last night at Sky Harbor. The drought is over! 103 days. No rain where it matters, though - in my back yard. And the last rain was earlier than Aug 23 or whatever at the airport. I've taken to watering my gravel to hold down the dust.

It got very wet at my apartment complex downtown, we had to have gotten just as much as the airport, maybe a bit more. I went to walk my dogs at 8:30 and everything was soaked outside

[Jnvlv247]

I think people here generally like colder after coming off of months of 90 degree plus weather. I just think they don't like it TOO cold, like under 65 duing the day

[Java Jolt]

Some people complain about a few cloudy days in the sunniest city in the United States?

I find that a little on the absurd side.