Wintery Arizona
February 5, 2008 -- Benson, AZ
Look, I know that it's not always warm in Arizona. I know the sun doesn't shine every day. I've been around long enough to learn weather can be extreme and unpredictable at times, wherever you are. But it's still a bit of a shock to wake to snow on the ground in southern Arizona! And that, my friends, is exactly what we found when we pulled open the blinds this morning.
On our way down to Green Valley for a family visit yesterday, this large, dark, angry-looking cloud, which stretched from the distant southwest to as far as we could see to the northeast, was rolling it's way toward us as we drove west on I-10. It looked like something from a science-fiction film. The instant we collided with it, the outdoor temp on my car thermometer dropped 10 degrees. Every imaginable kind of precipitation fell in the next few minutes... rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets... we had it all. The wind was man-handling the little Blazer, but 80,000 pound semi trucks were still passing us at 80mph. As various scenes from my early life started to pass before my eyes, I was trying to figure out who'd even notice a rusty gray splotch of flattened General Motors metal laying on the side of this road. We may never be found. I could see the headline: "Crazy Couple Co-Habitating in Camper Cancelled in Car Crash near Kartchner Caverns".
Alas, we survived. The crisis passed. The weather settled down a little and we made it to our appointment with an Aunt of mine who we haven't seen for many years. Actually, I have two aunts that live in the Tucson area, and we've been thoroughly enjoying our time with them and their families.
The storm continued for much of the day and was substantially over by nightfall. Some "wrap-around" moisture fell as snow overnight and provided us with that little snowy surprise this morning.
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Apology to all those in the Midwest getting hammered by the most recent big winter storm -- I'm sorry for whining about Arizona weather. You've been having the worst winter in many years and you certainly don't need someone like me complaining about a little dusting of snow.
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Not much else going on today. We're getting caught up on some administrative chores, took a long walk, and plan to make it to Kartchner Caverns this afternoon.
Good day everyone.
T
Look, I know that it's not always warm in Arizona. I know the sun doesn't shine every day. I've been around long enough to learn weather can be extreme and unpredictable at times, wherever you are. But it's still a bit of a shock to wake to snow on the ground in southern Arizona! And that, my friends, is exactly what we found when we pulled open the blinds this morning.
On our way down to Green Valley for a family visit yesterday, this large, dark, angry-looking cloud, which stretched from the distant southwest to as far as we could see to the northeast, was rolling it's way toward us as we drove west on I-10. It looked like something from a science-fiction film. The instant we collided with it, the outdoor temp on my car thermometer dropped 10 degrees. Every imaginable kind of precipitation fell in the next few minutes... rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets... we had it all. The wind was man-handling the little Blazer, but 80,000 pound semi trucks were still passing us at 80mph. As various scenes from my early life started to pass before my eyes, I was trying to figure out who'd even notice a rusty gray splotch of flattened General Motors metal laying on the side of this road. We may never be found. I could see the headline: "Crazy Couple Co-Habitating in Camper Cancelled in Car Crash near Kartchner Caverns".
Alas, we survived. The crisis passed. The weather settled down a little and we made it to our appointment with an Aunt of mine who we haven't seen for many years. Actually, I have two aunts that live in the Tucson area, and we've been thoroughly enjoying our time with them and their families.
The storm continued for much of the day and was substantially over by nightfall. Some "wrap-around" moisture fell as snow overnight and provided us with that little snowy surprise this morning.
----------
Apology to all those in the Midwest getting hammered by the most recent big winter storm -- I'm sorry for whining about Arizona weather. You've been having the worst winter in many years and you certainly don't need someone like me complaining about a little dusting of snow.
----------
Not much else going on today. We're getting caught up on some administrative chores, took a long walk, and plan to make it to Kartchner Caverns this afternoon.
Good day everyone.
T
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