CLIMAS - Southwest Climate Podcast

Mar 2023 SW Climate Podcast – Water Everywhere: Big Winter Stories

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

Feb 2023 SW Climate Podcast - Having it Both Ways: A La Niña and non-La Niña Winter

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

Nov 2022 SW Climate Podcast - Checking in on the Extended Transition Season

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

Oct 2022 SW Climate Podcast - Sending the Monsoon Away in Style

A note on the podcast, especially to those in our UA community that are grieving.
We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague, Tom Meixner, who was killed on the University of Arizona campus on October 5th, 2022. We recorded the podcast the day before, and our tone reflects our joyful enthusiasm for weather and climate in the Southwest, something that Tom certainly shared. We wanted to acknowledge this tragic event and express our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.
We’ll miss you, Tom.
In the October 2022 edition of the Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido sit down to discuss where 2022 stands in relation to other years, landing on 2022 as a sneaky candidate for one of the best SW-regional monsoons, ever.  They talk through the various ways one might assess monsoon performance, what happened in September, and how to make sense of all the lingering storm activity in early October, despite the monsoon being officially over. They wrap with a quick nod to winter and the incoming triple-dip La Niña, and what this might mean for the Southwest this winter.

Sept 2022 Southwest Climate Podcast - The Case for 2022 as a Generational Monsoon

In the September episode of the Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido catch up on where the monsoon ranks through August, and what September might bring (and how that might affect those rankings). After a tour of regional stats and how various parts of the Southwest are faring with the monsoon, Zack and Mike take a deeper dive into some comparisons with previous monsoon years, to see where 2022 stacks up, and how one might go about identifying the top 3-4 monsoons, based on coverage, intensity, and how sustained the precipitation was in that year. They wrap with a quick discussion of monsoon fantasy and what the forecasts hint at for the rest of September and into Fall.
If you want to play along and rank your top 3-4 monsoons, Mike's maps of past monsoon years and the NWS Tucson Monsoon Tracker are great resources to take a closer look at spatial coverage and station records and ranks. 
New UA Coop Extension Bulletin "Guide to Southwest US Station Climate Summaries" and find the summaries here

Jul 2022 Southwest Climate Podcast - Is this a Good or Bad Monsoon?

In this episode of The Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido sit down to talk through the last month of monsoon activity, how the monsoon is performing around the region (and at their houses). They follow up with some discussions of MCV/MCS dynamics based on a listener question and try to make the case whether this is a good monsoon or a bad monsoon.  Finally, they dive back into the monsoon fantasy game to see how the first month looks with a few days to go. 
Two notes:
Monsoon Fantasy Game: If you are reading this (or listening) before Aug 1, you still have time to log your August guesses for the Monsoon Fantasy Game: monsoonfantasy.arizona.edu/
Listener Survey: We have a short (5 min) survey for our listeners (or prospective listeners) and would very much appreciate some brief and anonymous info that will let us know how folks use the podcast, and what we can do to improve it.  Find the survey at: tinyurl.com/swclimatepod

Jun 2022 Southwest Climate Podcast - Are You Ready for the Monsoon?

In the June 2022 episode of the Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido apologize for the extended (and unintentional) break from podcasting, before diving into to a wide ranging "catch-up" episode that recaps winter and spring conditions, discusses regional hazards we see in spring into summer, and touches on the forecast and outlook for the summer...and the monsoon! They wrap with a discussion of the monsoon, whether this year could ever live up to last year and what led to last year's conditions, before addressing the excitement that a few outlooks have caused, and the early storms that have been building to the south. They also discuss the return of the Monsoon Fantasy Game and talk about how you can play and test your forecast skills against the "experts".  Happy Monsoon! 
For more information on the monsoon, be sure to check out the updated Monsoon Tracker from NWS Tucson: https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/twc/monsoon/monsoon_tracker.php.
Monsoon Fantasy Forecast Game
The monsoon fantasy forecast game is back!  The game is largely the same. You make rainfall forecasts at five cities each month. You score points based on the accuracy and riskiness of your forecasts. Here’s what is new this year:
You can make your forecasts for the month until midnight the final day of the previous month. For example, you have until June 30 at 11:59 PM to make your forecasts for July. Same goes for August and September.
There are Amazon gift card prizes for the top 3 finishers at values of $400, $300, and $200, courtesy of the Arizona Institutes for Resilient Environments and Societies.
Mike, Zack, and Ben will be talking about the monsoon and the leaderboard each month on the Southwest Climate Podcast.
For more details or to play: https://monsoonfantasy.arizona.edu/home
Calling last year’s monsoon fantasy players - Can you spare 2 minutes to help?
If you played last year, the game team would be grateful for two minutes of your time to answer five simple questions. Responses are anonymous. They will help them publish a description of the game. 
https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bd88HC6pAoWjGwS
 

Special Episode - 2021 CLIMAS Environment & Society Graduate Fellows Interviews

This episode is a break from the Southwest Climate Podcast, but Zack and Mike will be back in April to talk all things Southwest Climate. 
In this special episode, Gigi Owen sits down for one on one conversations with Moriah Bailey Stephenson, Simone Williams, and Lea Schram von Haupt (the 2021 CLIMAS E&S Grad Fellows) to chat with each of them about their reflections and perspectives and their fellowship experience. You can also find more information about their projects in blog posts at climas.arizona.edu/blog.
CLIMAS Member(s):  
Bailey Stephenson
Ben McMahan
Gigi Owen
Lea Schram von Haupt
Simone A. Williams

Mar 2022 Southwest Climate Podcast - Cold(ish), Windy, and Dry - Winter Recap & Looking Ahead

In the Mar 2022 edition of the CLIMAS Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido dive into a recap of winter (so far) in the Southwest. First, recap winter to date, and put it in the context of a double-dip La Niña, including precipitation totals, temperature, and snowpack. Then they take a closer look at the phases of the PNA (Pacific/North American pattern) and how this links to ENSO/La Niña and the weather conditions this winter. Finally, they revisit temperature to consider just how "cold" it has actually been, and preview a closer look at fire outlooks, snowpack, and water supply in upcoming podcasts.
CLIMAS Member(s):  
Ben McMahan
Michael Crimmins
Zack Guido

Jan 2022 Southwest Climate Podcast - La Niña, Winter Storms, & the Jetstream

In the January 2022 edition of the CLIMAS Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido dive into the winter weather so far, tracking how this lines up with expectations in a La Niña year, and what to track this winter to look for La Nina effects - temperature, snow water equivalent, streamflow forecasts, etc.  They also take a closer look at the jetstream and the role this plays in winter weather in the Southwest, and where these recent events (and the monsoon) leave us in terms of drought.  They wrap with some discussion of the outlooks for the next month/season, as well as some obligatory pining for the monsoon.
Discussed in this episode:
The Climatology of Synoptic-Scale Ascent over Western North America: A Perspective on Storm Tracks (Loreau & Horel, 2012)
https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-11-00203.1