CLIMAS - Southwest Climate Podcast
El Niño and La Niña, the southwestern monsoon, tropical storm activity, increasing temperatures, fire risk and weather, drought and snowpack, and dwindling reservoir storage all pose challenges to the Southwest. In the ‘Southwest Climate Podcast’, we focus on details and nuance, but (generally) avoid excessive technical jargon. Our goal is to synthesize information and data from experts, forecasts, and models to provide listeners with a better understanding of climate and weather in the Southwest, as well as the lessons we can learn from recent events and long term experiences.
Listen on:
Episodes
Thursday Nov 30, 2023
Thursday Nov 30, 2023
November 2023 SW Climate Podcast – Winter is Coming
In this month’s Southwest Climate Podcast, Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins are back from Thanksgiving to give a recap of November, which was not much to write home about. They start gearing us up for the next few months by taking a look back at previous winters and give a glimpse into this coming season as far as impacts, synoptic features, and large-scale drivers. The team rounds it out with a deep dive into El Niño and the complex forecasting that may or may not bring us some needed winter precipitation. Also - the monsoon is gone but not forgotten!
Last Call! The Southwest Climate Podcast is looking to do a special MailBag episode for the end of 2023! We are asking for listeners to send in their questions - Can be anything Southwest Climate related or try and stump the hosts by sending in your inquiries and postulations at uaclimas@gmail.com.
Mentions:
U.S. Drought Monitor: Current Map - West
National Weather Service - Climate Prediction Center: Outlook
National Weather Service - Climate Prediction Center: North American Multi-Model Ensemble
USDA - NRCS: Map - Snow Water Equivalent
“Investigating Runoff Efficiency in Upper Colorado River Streamflow Over Past Centuries”
Climate.gov - ENSO Blog: “S(no)w pain, S(no)w gain: How does El Niño affect snowfall over North America?”
CLIMAS Member(s):
Michael Crimmins
Zack Guido
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Goodbye, adios, sayonara - In this month’s podcast, the crew is ready to put the 2023 monsoon in the rearview mirror. Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins give this year’s monsoon season recap and the only good thing to say is that ‘at least it was not 2020’ :( They cover what happened in September, review temperature and precipitation as well as the tropical storm season that prevented a full out non-soon. We also get to hear the results of the Monsoon Madness game winners and take a look forward to a strong-leaning El Niño coming this winter.
Attention! For the first time for the Southwest Climate Podcast we are requesting listeners to send in their questions for a special MailBag episode in December. Try and stump the hosts by sending in your inquiries and postulations at uaclimas@gmail.com.
Mentions:
RainLog
Southwest U.S. Summer Monsoon Season Precipitation Mapping
NOAA Global Forecast System (GFS) Model
Southern Oscillation Index (SOI)
North American Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME)
CLIMAS Member(s):
Zack Guido
Michael Crimmins
Tuesday Sep 05, 2023
Tuesday Sep 05, 2023
In wrapping up a double-punch storm here in August ‘23, Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins are here to deconstruct the current monsoon season. They discuss various analogs to this year, cover Hurricane Hilary that made its way up through the western U.S. as well as the potential for additional tropical storms to bring more precipitation to the Southwest. Lastly they end on their predictions for September and into winter. Good luck to all the Southwest Monsoon Fantasy Forecasts participants out there!
Mentions:
Pima County Regional Flood Control District - Rainfall Map
RainLog
Southwest U.S. Summer Monsoon Season Precipitation Mapping
National Weather Service - Tucson: Monsoon
Climate Perspectives
@NWSPhoenix - Outflow Radar
Paper: “The Contribution of Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclones to the Rainfall Climatology of the Southwest United States”
CPC: 1 Month Outlook - Sept
{"Generational" Count = 1}
CLIMAS Member(s):
Michael Crimmins
Zack Guido
Wednesday Aug 02, 2023
Wednesday Aug 02, 2023
Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins bring you the July '23 edition of the Southwest Climate Podcast to tease out what the heck is happening with this year's monsoon. They cover some of the record-breaking heat in July, look back at the historical record of past monsoons to find an analog to this year, weigh in on whether any or all can be attributed to the El Niño flex, and lay out their predictions for the Monsoon Fantasy game. They may not have any definitive answers, but at least you'll get an insightful look at this summer's puzzling monsoon.
Mentions:
Arizona Station-based Drought Tracker
Climate Perspectives
Eric Webb on Twitter @webberweather
North American Multi-Model Ensemble
Southwest Monsoon Fantasy Forecasts
The International Research Institute for Climate and Society, Columbia University Climate School - ENSO Forecast
CLIMAS Member(s):
Michael Crimmins
Zack Guido
Wednesday Jun 28, 2023
Wednesday Jun 28, 2023
If you aren't thinking about the 2023 Monsoon Season, this Kick Off episode for the June 2023 Southwest Climate Podcast is just what you need. Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins are here to dive into the May / June review, a look at the current wildfire season, a brief chat about drought, then get into the recent Tex-Mex Heat Dome and dive right into the nitty gritty of the upcoming '23 Monsoon Season. They follow it up with an overview of the flex of El Niño, some hurricane looks - and last but not least - Monsoon Predictions.
If you haven't signed up for the Monsoon Fantasy game yet - This is your alarm clock! Forecasts for July must be cast by June 30 at 11:59 PM! Sign up today to play!
Mentions:
RainLog
Southwest Coordination Center (SWCC)
'Wavy' Jet Stream - Twitter
Monsoon Fantasy
["Generational" Count = 7]
CLIMAS Member(s):
Zack Guido
Michael Crimmins
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins are back in the May 2023 edition of the Southwest Climate Podcast where they are asking the real questions: Has it been a quiet spring? What was with that Monsoon-y Too Soon Maysoon? Why is it so hot in the Southwest? What are the models showing for the upcoming Monsoon season? And how come those models are throwing shade? Join the crew as they do a deep dive into the data to give their answers, explainers as well as a bit of the usual banter.
Mentions:
CoCoRaHS
RainLog
NOAA Blog: "May 2023 ENSO update: El Niño knocking on the door"
WMO: "Global temperatures set to reach new records in next five years"
James Hansen: "Global Temperature in 2022"
CLIMAS Member(s):
Zack Guido
Michael Crimmins
Thursday Jun 01, 2023
Thursday Jun 01, 2023
For this special edition of the Southwest Climate Podcast Gigi Owen sits down with the CLIMAS exiting 2022 Environment & Society Fellows for a recap of their projects during their year as well as some words of wisdom for the incoming Fellows.
Host: Gigi Owen
2022 Environment & Society Fellows:
Julia Davies
Barriers to urban agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa
Governance of traditional markets and rural-urban food systems in sub-Saharan Africa
Jake Dean
Rachel Zollinger
Being for Somebody: Museum Inclusion During COVID-19
Community Ecology: Museum Education and the Digital Divide During and After COVID-19
"Science from the Past and for the Future: Learning from Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Adaptation"
Explora: https://www.explora.us/
CLIMAS Member(s):
Gigi Owen
Friday Apr 14, 2023
Friday Apr 14, 2023
In the March 2023 edition of the Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido still have plenty to talk about! The pod starts out with a recap of the month of March’s precipitation and temperature followed by a discussion of whether ENSO played a role. Then they plow (pun intended) into the ‘Big Winter Stories’ covering historical snowpack, atmospheric rivers, extremes and drought. Stick around for the streamflow conversation as well as what Mike and Zack are looking forward to.
Mentions:
Southeast Regional Climate Center - Climate Perspectives Tool – Western Region
NOAA ENSO Blog: “Did La Niña drench the Southwest United States in early winter 2022/23?”
SCRIPPS Center For Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) - Atmospheric River Tally
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Photo from Mammoth Mountain
Rutz et. al. "Climatological Characteristics of Atmospheric Rivers and Their Inland Penetration over the Western United States"
U.S. Drought Monitor
("Generational" Count = 7)
CLIMAS Member(s):
Michael Crimmins
Zack Guido
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
In the February 2023 edition of the Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido return after a bit of a hiatus, and have a lot to talk about (buckle up!). Across the pod, they recap the winter conditions in the Southwest, talk about how this did/did-not live up to expectations for a La Niña winter, the effect some really widespread winter storm activity had across the western US, and what this means for snowpack and water supply going into spring.
CLIMAS Member(s):
Michael Crimmins
Zack Guido
Ben McMahan
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
In the November episode of the Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido check in with some extended weather/transition events over the last few months, and how this relates to monsoon-like vs. fall and winter events. They work through a set of possible scenarios for winter, and what we might expect with the current (triple dip!) La Nina event already underway, but with a likely transition to ENSO-neutral by early 2023. They bring back the 'hazard report' to talk through the kinds of weather events and hazards we might see over winter, and wrap with a discussion of the winter forecasts and what we'll be watching over winter to track how the season progresses. They also chat briefly about Ben McMahan (that's me!) changing jobs and having left UA in October (I'll keep helping with the podcast for who knows how long, but it's too much fun each month to let go easily, so we're exploring our options!).
CLIMAS Member(s):
Ben McMahan
Michael Crimmins
Zack Guido