S. Arizona gets ready for its Super Bowl of weather events

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_0f74c9e6-bbae-56cc-be7b-db5266f6e2cf.html?mode=story

S. Arizona gets ready for its Super Bowl of weather events



It's sunny and dry on an early June day in Tucson, but meteorologist Erik Pytlak
is watching enormous clouds build along the Mogollon Rim in east-central Arizona.

His computer at the National Weather Service office in Tucson shows him weather
data from July 17, 2009, to test his ability to predict the movement of summer
thunderstorms and issue watches and warnings for affected areas.

Pytlak, science officer at the Weather Service, usually administers these tests,
but he is not exempt from the pre-monsoon training required for all forecasters in the Tucson office.

The monsoon officially arrives Tuesday by National Weather Service declaration,
though its actual onset is not expected until the first week of July at the earliest.

It is the Super Bowl of weather events in Southern Arizona - a 108-day period
during which we receive half our yearly rainfall and almost all of our lightning strikes,
along with damaging winds, dust storms and flash floods.

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I'm looking forward to the rain.

Cloudy, thunder, and I can smell it!

a few tiny sprinkles here and youngest son said actual rain drops about 2 miles below the house!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: