Tuesday, September 01, 2020

End Of Summer 2020


September 1st dawns mostly clear, as past few days have.


Southeastern Arizona had only isolated thunderstorms yesterday, mostly south to west of Tucson. Plot of detected CG flashes above is for 24-hours ending at 01:00 am MST this morning (from Atmo and Vaisala).


Rain reports from the ALERT network occurred in the southern portion of the network, as per above for 24-hour precipitation ending at 07:00 am. Three sites did have over half an inch. Reports from MesoWest (below, for same period) indicate heavier amounts in Santa Cruz and Cochise Counties, with one report indicating more than two inches.


Summer Summary: here at the house August ended up with only 0.31" of rainfall - the driest August in my period of record, which began in 1999. Previous driest had been 0.73" in 2004. This was also the driest summer in my records, the 2.28 inches beating out 2004's 2.35 inches. The heat at the airport was also record setting for both July and August.  So, good riddance to summer 2020.


At 500 mb this morning (above) a short-wave trough extends from southeastern Wyoming southwestward to around Yuma. This feature will drag across Arizona today - note the very warm temperatures through the southwestern portion of this trough extending from Oregon into Sonora (an amazing -1 C at Reno, Nevada). The morning sounding from TWC continues to hold low-level moisture with potential CAPE. However, strong drying has now reached down to 600 mb.

Models indicate slight chance for isolated showers in the metro area today, but after that, the rest of the first week of September will continue dry.


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