Monsoon
Everything filed under monsoon.
Monsoon9 min readDriving into floodwater in Arizona, and what the law saysWhat three agencies publish about water and a vehicle, and what A.R.S. § 28-910 (the Stupid Motorist Law) actually says, and what it does not.Monsoon10 min readHow to read a flash flood warningA flood advisory, a flood watch, a flash flood warning and a flash flood emergency are four different products. What the National Weather Service means by each.Monsoon9 min readKeeping a rain log worth keepingA rain gauge is the only weather record you own. What to record, how often to read it, and how to set your own totals against the Phoenix rainfall normals.Monsoon9 min readLightning safety in ArizonaThe National Weather Service rules for Arizona monsoon lightning, what actually counts as shelter, and the beliefs about cars, rain and trees that get people struck.Monsoon9 min readMicrobursts and the wind that comes firstA monsoon storm announces itself with wind, not rain. What a downburst is, the gusts the Phoenix forecast office puts on it, and why the dust always arrives first.Monsoon11 min readMonsoon and your roofRain rarely takes a Phoenix roof. Wind, dust and ponding water do. What to check before the season, on the day the wind arrives, and afterwards.Monsoon9 min readMonsoon rainfall normals in Phoenix, month by monthPhoenix's rainfall in the 1991–2020 normals, month by month, from a June normal of 0.02 inches to August's 0.93, and why the median sits below the average.Monsoon10 min readPreparing a house for monsoonThe house work a Phoenix monsoon asks for, ordered by when it has to happen, what needs dry weather in May, and what can wait until a storm is in the forecast.Monsoon10 min readWhat a haboob is, and what to do when one arrivesA haboob is the wall of dust a collapsing thunderstorm pushes out ahead of itself. What the Arizona agencies tell you to do in a car, at home and on foot, in their words.Monsoon9 min readWhen the monsoon season really starts in PhoenixThe monsoon window opens on 15 June by the calendar and about four weeks later by the dew point. The 108-day season, its three phases, and why the two dates differ.