Allergy Alert: What’s driving up the weekend pollen count
Early Winter rains plus temps flirting near the 80's this weekend has the Sneeze Meter cranked up.
No relief in sight, allergy sufferers. Joining juniper and ash in the pollen party will be poplar. Today's Sneeze Meter reads 8.2, increasing to over 9 by Sunday. If your plans are outdoors this weekend, have the allergy meds handy.
Think this looks bad? Wait until Monday. We'll add gusty winds up to 30 MPH to the mix, kicking up even more pollen. Safe to say that the Sneeze Meter should reach 10 early next week. Yuck!
A look at Match Play’s weather history at Dove Mountain
Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Golfers and fans have seen a little bit of everything in the weather department for the Accenture Match Play Championship.
Nobody will forget last year's Championship Sunday at Dove Mountain, which started with a 2" blanket of snow. Click here to check out some amazing video of the rare snowstorm, named #2 on PGATour.com's "Top 10 Bad Weather Moments". That Sunday was clearly the snowiest the tournament's seen, as well as the wettest. 0.21" rainfall was officially recorded at the Tucson International Airport on February 27, 2011.
While Mother Nature didn't cooperate last year, overall there's been little weather worries since Match Play arrived in Marana back in 2007. I combed through all the weather data from the days the tournament was in town...here's an in-depth look at the Match Play weather scorecard over the last 5 years:
AVG HIGH: 71.2
AVG LOW: 43.5
WARMEST YEAR: 67.8 (2009)
COLDEST YEAR: 51.4 (2011)
WARMEST DAY: 91 (2/23/2009)
COLDEST MORNING: 32 (2/24/2007)
WARMEST MORNING: 58 (2/23/2009; 3/1/2009)
COLDEST DAY: 52 (2/24/2007)
DAYS WITH RAIN: 6
WETTEST DAY: 0.21" (2/27/2011)
MOST SNOW: 2" (2/27/2011)
Why Tucson saw snow on Valentine’s Day
Interesting weather yesterday, no? Valley rain changed rapidly to valley snow around the noon hour Tuesday, creating quite a buzz in the Sonoran Desert. I certainly didn't see that one coming! Goes to show that a well-researched forecast can go wrong with a few degrees of cooling.
So what caused the "Winter Wonderland"? Check the video above to find out. A complete report on Tuesday's rain/snow totals is on KVOA.com...click here to check it out.
Brief look at Thursday’s weather-maker
Keeping this short, as my head hurts digesting today's forecast melt-down...more on that tomorrow. Round 2 of Winter weather comes at us Thursday, as another Pacific low pressure system swings in. Isolated showers are in the picture, with valley rainfall amounts up to 0.10". Best shot at showers/mountain snow comes along the International Border, as Nogales and Douglas could see 0.25" rain.
Snow levels look higher than what we saw today, with mountain-tops possibly seeing 1-3" snow between Thursday & Friday morning.
As today has shown, this is subject to change. That said, where's the Tylenol?
Watch all of Arizona’s earthquakes since 1852
Last week, I showed you 14 years of weather in 30 minutes. New week, new awesome clip...put together by the Arizona Geological Survey. It shows all of the recorded earthquakes in Arizona since 1852. Lee Allison with the Arizona Geological Survey talked about how the video was put together on his blog:
"The older quakes are culled from historical records, and thus are limited to only those large enough to be felt or caused damage. In the past few decades, locations are from seismometers in the region. And in the past few years, we now have statewide coverage that ensures we are detecting all earthquakes in Arizona larger than magnitude 3 and probably most of the ones larger than 2.5. Thus, in the video, you will see a dramatic increase in activity at the end of the timeline - it's a result of recording the smaller events that we were missing before."
This video goes to show that earthquakes can happen anywhere, at anytime.
Valley rain, mountain snow 24 hours away
Remember Old Man Winter? He's making a return this week.
The first in a pair of Pacific storm systems arrives in southern Arizona tomorrow. Storm #1 will bring valley rain/mountain snow, gusty winds up to 25 MPH and daytime highs 25-30 degrees cooler than Saturday. Our KVOA RPM model is plotting out scattered showers and mountain snow starting up late tomorrow morning & tapering off tomorrow night. The morning commute looks dry, but windshield wipers will be required for the evening rush.
Tuesday's forecast precip totals - Courtesy: Univ. of Arizona Atmospheric Sciences Dept.
Rain/snow amounts don't appear too impressive with this system. The UA weather models hint at many lower elevation locales seeing a trace to 0.10" rain by Tuesday night. Up in the mountains, liquid precip totals should be around 0.25-0.50", falling in the form of snow. 3-6" snow is possible tomorrow above 7,000 feet, including Mt. Lemmon, Mt. Graham and the White Mountains.
Another round of Winter weather arrives late week...more on that tomorrow on the blog and on News 4 Tucson Today.
Sunday’s Hilton Fire forecast
Courtesy: Thomas Peck
Arizona's wildfire season is in full swing.
Yesterday saw the second blaze of 2012 ignite: the Hilton Fire, located in the Empire Mountains off highway 83 near Sonoita. As of this morning, 300 acres have been charred with an estimated 5% containment. Five homes were evacuated last night, although officials said there wasn't an "immediate threat" to them. More details can be found here, courtesy of KVOA.com.
Sunday afternoon's forecast winds - Courtesy: Univ. of Arizona Atmospheric Sciences Dept.
Mother Nature's not going to be helping firefighters this afternoon. Above is today's forecast winds, which should be sustained out of the west-southwest at 10-20 mph. The greens and yellows south & east of Tucson indicate gusts nearing 30 mph. Smoke plumes will drift toward towns like Benson and St. David, so those sensitive to low air quality may want to stay indoors today. These winds combined with little atmospheric moisture and parched lands will give those on the front lines a tough battle.
Complete coverage of the Hilton Fire can be found 24/7 on KVOA.com. I'll have more on the weather's role with this fire tomorrow morning on News 4 Tucson Today, starting at 5 AM.
Rain’s in the forecast mid-week…just how much can we expect?
It's hard not to get excited at the prospects of a rain chance in the Sonoran Desert. Our hopes hinge on the massive cloud bank off the West Coast...that's a storm system bringing showers in late Wednesday into Thursday. Sure does look impressive based on the satellite image above, but models say otherwise.
Here's one model output between late Wednesday & Thursday. The lightest green color indicates rainfall under 0.05", which includes a good chunk of southern Arizona. Higher terrain locales and the International border may see up to 0.10". Only the highest mountain peaks will see snow from this, adding up to perhaps an inch for Mt. Lemmon. Heaviest precipitation seems to stay just south of the border, as does the storm track. Portions of Mexico could see around a half-inch of much-needed rainfall.
For now, I'll call it isolated showers, with the best chance of rain near the border. This likely does very little to improve the ongoing drought, but every little bit helps.
A look at how weather has impacted Super Bowl Sunday
Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images
No weather worries this Super Bowl Sunday. The 46th edition of pro football's biggest game will be played inside the friendly confines of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. While the Patriots and Giants won't have to contend with Mother Nature, other Super Bowl combatants haven't been as lucky. Here's a look at some Super Bowl weather extremes...
Super Soaker: The Colts and Bears played in a "Miami monsoon" back in 2007
Wettest Super Bowl: Super Bowl XLI in Miami saw the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears trudge through 0.92" rain. To my recollection, the entire second half was played under a steady, heavy rain. The Colts didn't seem to mind; they beat the Bears 29-17 to capture their second Lombardi Trophy.
In all, 17 Super Bowls saw a trace or more of rain recorded at the nearest airport to the stadium. Important to note that of those 17 games, 7 were played inside domed stadiums.
The Steelers ground attack in Super Bowl XIV cut through the SoCal wind...and cut down the LA Rams.
Windiest Super Bowl: Santa Ana winds gave the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Rams an added challenge during Super Bowl XIV. During the game, northeast winds up to 30 MPH roared near Pasadena's Rose Bowl. The strong winds affected the Steelers more than the hometown Rams, as Pittsburgh QB Terry Bradshaw threw 3 interceptions in the game. Despite that, Bradshaw collected MVP honors as his two 2nd half touchdown passes helped defeat Los Angeles 31-19.
Warmest Super Bowl: Super Bowls VII and XXXVII were each played under sunny skies and 82 degree temperatures. It should come as no surprise that southern California hosted both games. Super Bowl VII at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum saw the Miami Dolphins beat the Washington Redskins 14-7, becoming the first team to go undefeated in a season. Perhaps the January heat played a role in that game, as Dolphin kicker Garo Yepremian's attempted "pass" gave Washington their only points & made for one of the most famous bloopers in NFL history.
San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium hosted Super Bowl XXXVII, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers crushed the Oakland Raiders 48-21.
In case you're wondering, the average high temperature for the Super Bowl is 62.6 degrees. Keep in mind that out of the 45 Super Bowls, 14 have been played indoors.
Coldest Super Bowl: Indoors would have been a much better venue for Super Bowl VI. New Orleans' open-air Tulane Stadium was the site for the Dallas Cowboys/Miami Dolphins clash, with a chilly high temp of 43 degrees that day. The Winter chill (and Cowboys swarming defense) hindered the Dolphins, as they became the first team in Super Bowl history to not score a touchdown. Dallas won easily 24-3.
Want more weather stats for Super Bowl Sunday? A complete game-by-game breakdown can be found by clicking here, courtesy of William Schmitz at the Southeast Regional Climate Center.
January 2012: 4th warmest in Tucson’s history
Courtesy: NWS Tucson
Dry and warm.
That's the short-hand version of your January weather in Tucson, which was the 4th warmest ever recorded. The pace was set early, when Tucson hit 80 degrees for the first time ever on New Year's Day. While southern Arizona prides itself on its fabulous weather, the lack of rain looks to be a big weather story moving forward. As we start February, the rain bucket at TIA stands 0.80" below average.
An in-depth look at January 2012 is below, courtesy of the National Weather Service Tucson.
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CURRENT TUCSON WEATHER
TWITTER.COM/JEFFBEAMISH
- RT @McIlroyRory: Great to be thru to the quarter finals tomorrow! Played well for the most part. Exciting weekend ahead! #3moretogo
- @FLETCHandBANJO Hey caped crusader...you've got competition, eh? http://t.co/SEfZQRIn
- Here's today's "Hittin' the Trails 4 You"...a story about a #Marana woman who hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro for charity http://t.co/WCXLdGvh #hiking
