The Vagaries of Monsoon Season

Did you see the article in this morning's Republic about dropping temperatures?

Believe it or not, temperatures could drop into the 60s this weekend.

If the low end of the National Weather Service forecast holds up, it would be the earliest time in the season since 2001 and the first time since the day after Memorial Day.

It might have happened overnight or it could come soon. Lows in the upper 60s are forecast through the middle of next week. And if it doesn't happen officially (at the reporting station at Sky Harbor International Airport), it certainly could do so unofficially in the cooler parts of town.

Those cooler parts might be places that have tree-lined streets and turf, say, Morrison Ranch. I mentioned to The Mister last night that it was downright pleasant outside. The article has an explanation for that as well:

Thursday's temperature was held down by a large thunderstorm that blanketed the area after midnight. More than 1½ inches of rain fell in some north Phoenix locations, with lesser amounts elsewhere around the Valley.

Sky Harbor, alas, reported only a trace.

And once again, we see the different rainfall totals in neighboring areas of the valley, and in the state. We were comparing rain totals at lunch yesterday, and while we only got .03 on the Ranch, our dairy at Elliot and Sossaman got .4 inches. But our farm foreman won the category with 2.3 inches at the farm in Gila Bend! Then he told a story that he heard from his grandpa, who is The First Cousin's dad.

There was a farmer that used to carry a shotgun with him in the field, in case he saw a rabbit that would be good for supper. One day he was cultivating a field, and as he stopped for lunch, he leaned the shotgun up against the cultivator as he went inside. While he was eating, a monsoon storm passed by; when he returned to the cultivator, one barrel of the shotgun was full of rainwater. The other barrel was dry.

And that's how it rains in Arizona.