Hiking Yesterday West Of Highway 83

I took a short hike yesterday on public lands that are still open near the proposed Rosemont copper mine. Was surprised to find significant work underway, even though final approval for the mine has not yet been granted. Rumbles and noise of heavy equipment, working in the planned pit area, echoed through the hills. The terrain is quite diverse out there with live oaks and large juniper in the washes, giving way to scrub and open rock along the western ridges, with abundant grasses and smaller juniper across the middle and lower elevations out toward Highway 83.

Even though there has been no precipitation for almost a month, the north slopes of the Santa Ritas were still carrying noticible snow cover (above - top). As moisture streamed in from the western Pacific, there was heavy middle cloud, much mammatus, and virga hanging over the mountains (above - bottom). Here at the house we had a distinct, but not very strong microburst, from a precipitation streamer that produced a couple of spits of rain. This morning there appears to be a nice flow of low-latitude moisture being pulled northward by the 500 low west of San Diego. So, we may get the first rain in a long while, as this low weakens and is picked up the stronger trough to the north-northwest.

Of note while I was walking was a bright, brief appearance of a Mountain Bluebird - see below.