August 2018 SW Climate Podcast - Monsoon Midpoint Review - The ’Expectations and Potential vs. Reality’ Edition

In the August edition of the Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido discuss the monsoon in the Southwest this year. They focus on how it compares to past events and long term averages, and discuss the spatial and temporal variability of the storms that occur during the monsoon (i.e. did it rain at your house or not?). As part of their regional roundup, they talk about why (really how) Phoenix has been hogging more monsoon events than usual, and make note of the untapped potential in other parts of the Southwest, where conditions have been ripe for widespread monsoon activity, but has not seen the kind of 'epic' monsoon that Zack (and much of central Tucson) was hoping for. Mike reminds us that over the longer term it eventually evens out, although this is limited comfort for those who are on the losing (i.e. dry) end of the range of monsoon precipitation to date.  The bet for the monsoon total had Zack guessing 5.75" and Mike at 7.5" (and Ben wins if they both go over). The Tucson Airport is currently sitting at 4.81”…which means Zack might be in the driver’s seat as it needs to hit 6.63 for Mike to win. The peak period of monsoon activity is starting to wind down, but tropical storms that veer back into the Southwest are still on the table, so we'll wait and see.