 | ||||||
| The main house and guest house at the Painted Pony Resort with an isolated monsoon storm in the background |
 |
| Screen grab of the radar image showing the location of PPR and the isolated monsoon storm shown in the photograph. |
A view from the Painted Pony Resort outside of Rodeo, New Mexico's most western town.
Click photograph to view large formatted image
Thursday
It's Raining, but not here
One characteristic of the monsoon season in the high desert is uneven rainfall. It will be bone dry at the Painted Pony Resort but pouring buckets some place else in the valley or in the mountains. The last time this effected the estate was when it rained in the Peloncillo mountains but the estate received only 0.05". The water from the Peloncillos funneled through the estate tearing out and moving a 30" x 20' diameter culvert. While out working yesterday I noticed a monsoon storm building to the south and took the panoramic image below. A single isolated area of falling rain was visible. Upon checking the radar to see if it was moving north I noticed that what I viewed outside was actually occurring 27 miles south of the estate, down by Paramore Crater and in the San Bernardino Valley. Since this is across the drainage divide all the rain water was headed south. But it nicely illustrates the idea that you can see forever in the San Simon Valley. I should say that the monsoon faded then built again and the estate received 0.61" overnight, bringing the monthly total to 4.81" for this monsoon and a yearly total so far of 8.35".
Labels:
high desert,
monsoon,
New Mexico,
rainfall reporting
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
We got that rain yesterday! Our rain gauge was moved by the high winds. It was at a 45 degree angle and useless with the opening facing south and the wind and rain coming from the north. We did have a bucket outside so measured 0.85" rain. Neighbor 1/2 mile or less to the SE got 0.50" and a neighbor about a mile NW us got 1.5" so I definitely agree that rainfall is different. Once we sat outside and watched lightning all around us. My eyes got fatigued so I came indoors.
ReplyDeleteYesterday we watched a neighbor [lives 2+ miles from us S and E of us, came down the road right after the storm ended. They made it to Hwy 80, unknown why they left then.
Wow, it was calm here, well maybe a light breeze, all day and throughout the night. It is amazing how localized a monsoon storm can be out here. I also watched the lightning from the comfort of the doorway looking east, a spectacular show.
ReplyDeleteToday is July 31. It's thundering and lightning right now. I'll total up the July rain for Howard's records after today.
ReplyDeletePPR received 0.31" overnight and it is still raining this morning. It will be interesting to see the monthly totals on the Portal Rodeo website (see link in the sidebar under Arizona links) once Howard has all the data assembled and plotted.
ReplyDeleteI should add that the rain is currently falling at a rate of about 0.06"/hr, not heavy but a nice gentle rain that should soak in well providing water for not only the desert plants but also the aquifer.
DeleteWe got 1.5" between 4-7 AM AZ time so 5-8 NM time. So did our nearest neighbors. Our road seems okay near us. Weeds pulled out easily. I was wearing my "bugsuit" and got pretty warm, though.
ReplyDeleteExcellent news. The FedEx guy was here yesterday (delivering a bee suit) and said he made some deliveries down your way before he came here, but was surprised that there were only 2 puddles on the 3 miles of road to PPR
ReplyDeleteI told your part time neighbor via email that I could see her cupola, the rest was 2 story weeds, then said "just kidding" but she replied that means her house is still standing and it will be like a South American Archeological dig. ha ha ha
ReplyDeleteYes the desert has come back to life with the July rains. I've been out on the tractor all morning trying to catch up with the weeding around the estate. The front garden is full of grass and tumbleweeds which has grown over the past couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteOur friends have sheep they use to "mow" the high grass. They got 3 INCHES rain in less than 30 minutes yesterday AND a power outage. Columbus Electric said there was no problem and it they came out and found the problem on THEIR side of the meter, CE would charge them. Then more neighbors must have called as CE came out and found a problem near Hwy 80 and Rockspring Road so definitely on CE.
ReplyDeleteand our grass is knee high or higher; my string trimmer needs more string, its on my list. when this grass turns brown, I think we will have a fire hazard here in this valley.
DeleteLooking out over the benches that have been grubbed of mesquite I am seeing more grasses this year and it is looking good. It tells me that the restoration efforts are having a positive effect. I have developed a fire plan on the estate which is essentially 3 layers, comprising Nighthawk and Painted Pony roads, the runways, and finally the open graveled areas around the buildings. I'm still short one fire break on the south end of the newer properties east of the riverbed but hope to get something built. Periodic grassland fires were historically the norm for desert grasslands and fire is still used as a restoration tool in many areas. It is up to individual land owners to protect their properties either through continued grazing or by developing and implementing fire plans. You mention sheep as grazers in your comment, this is a good way to keep unwanted plant growth under control. Judicious use of grazers can have a positive effect on the landscape.
ReplyDelete