Fickle Monsoon

Discussion in 'Science & Nature' started by Frank Sanoica, Aug 1, 2020.

  1. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    Throughout June, it continued to build up down in Mexico, moving northwards up through central AZ and much of New Mexico. A few days ago, Weather Channel showed a wide band of strong weather activity stretching from central Mexico, wide as that country itself, extending straight northwards through the Rockies, AZ, NM, UT, WY, Mont., and Idaho, and right on up into Canada! Within this band were hundreds of active "fronts" causing thunderstorms, dust storms, and torrential flooding.

    Usually, this will begin, for us close to the Colorado River, down by the border in the Yuma area, then head northward through western AZ and part of CA, up into Nevada and Utah. This year, and last, not so. Instead, we have waited patiently to no avail, the desert plants must be screaming out for a drop of water, daytime temps have been near record high for a month or more......no rain in several months now. Does not affect our water supply, there is plenty available to us for about one-dollar per thousand gallons; a buck to fill our little pool! Hoping August will turn that old Monsoon our way......

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    Dust storm entering Phoenix area at dusk......

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    Another.


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    Immense column of water falling over a number of square miles in area. This causes local flooding of roads, irrigation ditches, drops air temp. by at least 30 degrees.....


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    Hapless Saguaro Cactus, very old, felled by wind gust. Planting or transplanting these is regulated by law.


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    These are the chaotic scenes we are so hopefully awaiting! Nuts? Maybe. It's what the Desert dishes out.....

    Frank
     
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  2. Martin Alonzo

    Martin Alonzo Supreme Member
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    Amazing photos Frank
     
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  3. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Wonderful photos, Frank. The desert has it's own special beauty. I could never live there because I honestly love rain. We've been having summer thunderstorms every single day for the past couple of weeks.
     
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  4. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Nogales, AZ has a small river, the Santa Cruz, which is only a river one time of the year which is during the monsoon season. The majority of time it’s just a dry bed.
    The filling of the river was a special sort of thing for a Greek real estate developer back in the early ‘60’s because it led to one of the biggest real estate scams in Southern Arizona history.
    He had bought up a huge span of property abutting Steward Granger’s (of Jungle Jim fame among other movies) estate and yes, the Santa Cruz. He then proceeded to take pictures of the river when it was full and running along with Granger’s abutting and improved property. The Greek developer then promoted the parceled plots complete with pictures of a river which was almost immediately snatched up by people from the eastern portion of the U.S.
    Sadly, when most of the folks bought their property site unseen [in hopes of building their homes next to a river in AZ]. showed up, the river was dry. From what I had heard when I was managing the Casa De Santa Cruz Country Club, a lot of those folks showed up with their boats in tow and no river near to use them.
    So...what happened to the Greek developer? He made his money and ran back to Greece.

    For some, it worked out okay I guess.
    Bob King of the Cattle and Sheep ranch fame (largest in the world) and James Stanford bought Stewart Granger’s estate and turned the home into a Club House and the rest of the property into a 18 hole champion golf course which, well after its completion, I managed for a couple of years.
    The golf course being the better draw, those who could afford to stay kept the adobe brick makers, clay roofing tile makers and the colored gravel people busy for quite a few years because that’s just about all the homes and landscape are made out of.

    Oh yeah, a sad but funny story about the adobe brick thing. One enterprising New York businessman had his winter home built on one of those pieces of property but decided on a much cheaper adobe brick (uncured) thinking that he was saving thousands of dollars. Not knowing he was the object of yet another scam, when the monsoons came after his home was fully built.....the torrential rains turned the house into a large pile of mud.
     
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    Last edited: Aug 2, 2020
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