Late yesterday afternoon it finally rained here. Oh, there's been slight showers and even a few minutes of real rain, but my area finally got the first real rain since last year. It started a little after 5PM and lasted a couple of hours. There was a period of thunder and lightning with heavy, wind driven, rain. The next morning my rain gauge had recorded an inch and a quarter. This was a real desert monsoon gully washer. It was GREAT.
I know, this isn't news to anyone. This happens reasonably often in the Southwestern desert and isn't considered any big deal - except, this time I was measuring the temperature during the storm. Below, is a snapshot of the temperatures before and after the storm. Notice how the temperature was over 110 F when the storm started and dropped to 75 F as the rain progressed. That's a temperature drop of 40 F, all the way down to something reasonable and comfortable. I don't remember that kind of fluctuation in other places I've visited.
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Of course though, it got up to 105 F today, and as the moisture evaporated from the ground, the humidity shot up. Now, I remember why I hated Louisiana in the summer...
I know, this isn't news to anyone. This happens reasonably often in the Southwestern desert and isn't considered any big deal - except, this time I was measuring the temperature during the storm. Below, is a snapshot of the temperatures before and after the storm. Notice how the temperature was over 110 F when the storm started and dropped to 75 F as the rain progressed. That's a temperature drop of 40 F, all the way down to something reasonable and comfortable. I don't remember that kind of fluctuation in other places I've visited.
Of course though, it got up to 105 F today, and as the moisture evaporated from the ground, the humidity shot up. Now, I remember why I hated Louisiana in the summer...