CLIMAS - Southwest Climate Podcast

Apr 2018 SW Climate Podcast - Diving into Atmospheric Rivers & their Role in Southwest Precip

In this episode of the CLIMAS Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido sit down to discuss what happened with the weather over the last 30 days. They break down the event from mid-February that brought a pulse of moisture to SE Arizona and SW New Mexico, including the connection between atmospheric rivers and precipitation in the Southwest (vs. CA). They also discuss the larger regional patterns of rain, snow, and streamflow within the context of the fading La Niña signal, and wrap things up with a new bet. When will the first 100 degree day occur? - tune in for the details, but as is their pattern, Zack is a bit ambitious in his guess, and Mike tends towards climatology.

Feb 2018 SW Climate Podcast - Realistic Expectations for Clawing Back to Normal Precip in a La Niña - Prospects for a Miracle March?

In the February 2018 episode of the CLIMAS Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido chat about what's been going on in the Southwest over the past few months, since we last recorded a podcast.  In terms of precipitation, the answer is not much, unless the day in question is also a podcast day - the weather has an odd - but welcome - habit of raining on days we record the podcast.  In terms of temperature, the record to near record heat remains a key part of the winter story.
Specifically, Mike and Zack discuss the conditions of the past 1-3 months, focusing on the overall lack of precipitation in the Southwest, meager snowpack, above average temperatures, and impacts associated with warmer and drier than average winters, including an early start to fire season in Arizona. They also discuss the atmospheric patterns that have led to the elevated temperatures and lack of precipitation in the SW, and what changed in the past week that brought much needed moisture and cooler conditions to parts of Arizona and New Mexico. They also grapple with the prospects of a "miracle March" that could pull seasonal precipitation totals back up to near average, and whether we have any shot at this (spoiler: chances aren't great). They also discuss if this were to happen, whether it could quickly reverse long term precipitation deficits and drought impacts (again, unlikely). They wrap up with a discussion of the current La Niña event and the role it has played in the Southwest, as well as what the seasonal outlooks have to say about the next few months.
Materials discussed in this episode:

Dec 2017 SW Climate Podcast - Convergence & Persistence in the SW - Drought, Wildfire, & La Niña Conditions

In this episode of the CLIMAS Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido discuss the regional temperature and precip of the past 30-90 days, including the mostly above average temperatures, the very dry conditions, and the recent precipitation event that hit parts of southern Arizona and New Mexico. They also discuss the California wildfires in the context of the Santa Ana winds, years of persistent drought, and the convergence of conditions that set the stage for the current crisis in California - with an eye towards what conditions in Arizona and New Mexico look like for this coming fire season. They wrap up with a discussion of – you guessed it – La Niña, including connecting the current conditions to the larger arc of persistent drought, seasonal fire risk, and what we might expect looking forward (including a friendly wager on guesses for cool season precip).
Materials Discussed in this episode:

Nov 2017 SW Climate Podcast - A Tale of Two Octobers in the Southwest

In the Nov 2017 episode of the CLIMAS SW Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido sit down to discussion temperature and precipitation in the Southwest over the past month or so, and the discrepancy between Arizona and New Mexico re: precipitation.  They also dive into ENSO and the emergent (weak) La Niña conditions, and what this might mean, taking a close look at last year (another weak La NIña) and other weak La NIña events of the past decades. They wrap up with a quick summary of the seasonal outlooks for the Southwest.

SW Climate Podcast - 2017 Monsoon Recap (June 15 - Sept 30) - Boasting, Coasting or Ghosting

In this episode of the CLIMAS Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido look back at the monsoon that wasn't, then very much so was, and then wasn't again (at least in Arizona), as well as the late season surge over in New Mexico.  They discuss the mechanisms that helped push the monsoon to near record levels in July, but helped facilitate a shut down for most of August and nearly all of September.  They also discuss "the bet".  Next month the discussion will return to ENSO, drought, and upcoming forecasts for fall/winter in the SW, but for now, it's all monsoon, all the time.

August 2017 CLIMAS SW Climate Podcast - Monsoon Midpoint Recap - Swinging for the Fences

In the August edition of the CLIMAS SW Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido discuss how much has changed since the last podcast (Jul 12), which ended up being one of the first days in an impressive string of sustained monsoon precipitation events across the Southwest - and in much of southern Arizona in particular. 
In the podcast - Mike and Zack recap the monsoon performance and statistics to date, they give an overview of the atmospheric patterns that led to the extended run of monsoon precipitation, and they daydream a bit about how close this year could come to monsoon records (if it stays on the current trajectory).
Note: This podcast was recorded on Aug 9th, just before the next wave of monsoon activity fired up in southern Arizona.

July 2017 CLIMAS SW Climate Podcast - Monsoon Round One (Plus the 122nd Coolest June on Record)

In this edition of the CLIMAS Southwest Climate Podcast - Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido sit down to discuss Southwestern weather & climate, including:
The extended heat wave of June 2017 (and the near record heat for the first half of 2017 (Jan-Jun)) (1:00 - 15:00),
The wildfires in the Southwest , and the role that a monsoon late arrival might have played (15:00-19:00)
The Southwestern Monsoon - the components of the system, comparisons to other years, and what we might expect going forward (19:00-38:00)
As a note: this was recorded on Jun 12, 2017, before most of the extended run of monsoon activity that hit southern Arizona Jun 10 - Jun 17 (and is ongoing!).  Mike and Zack will discuss more about this (amazing) week in the next edition of the podcast.
Materials discussed in this podcast:
 
 
Monsoon Resources
CLIMAS: www.climas.arizona.edu/sw-climate/monsoon
Monsoon Summaries: https://cals.arizona.edu/climate/misc/monsoon/monsoon_summaries.html
CSAP: Precipitation Maps of the Monsoon - Arizona and New Mexico 
National Weather Service: www.wrh.noaa.gov/twc/monsoon/monsoon.php
Bob Maddox's MadWeather Blog - https://madweather.blogspot.com/
Arizona WRF Discussion - https://arizonawrf.blogspot.com/
 
*122nd out of 123 - otherwise known as the 2nd warmest June on record (listen in for the details from Zack and Mike)

June 2017 CLIMAS SW Climate Podcast - Spring’s Last Gasp, Reservoirs and Streamflow, Imminent Heat, and Monsoon Patience

In this episode of the CLIMAS Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido discuss May weather in comparison to the record/near-record March conditions, what this means for snowpack, streamflow and reservoir conditions. They also discuss past/present/future wildfire, the imminence of summer heat, and the eventual relief monsoon conditions will bring.  Oh and a bit of El Niño sprinkled throughout - the role it might be playing in seasonal outlooks, and how strong it might be.

May 2017 CLIMAS SW Climate Podcast - Quiescent but Warm: Calm Before the Fire and Brimstone

In the May 2017 episode of the CLIMAS Southwest Climate Podcast - Zack Guido is back and sits down with Mike Crimmins to do a recap of the winter that was (or in some ways, wasn't), the current and recent conditions in the Southwest (including fire weather and fire conditions), and a look forward to what we can expect from the "fire and brimstone" season that is already building (with just a hint of a monsoon discussion to keep Zack feeling sane).
We updated our iTunes podcast feed: It would help us tremendously if you could rate and review the new podcast feed in iTunes, as these ratings help other listeners find our podcast.
CLIMAS Member(s):  
Ben McMahan
Michael Crimmins
Zack Guido

SW Climate Mini Podcast - March the ”Snow-Eater” and Early April Fires (but not the Sawmill)

In this mini-episode of the SW Climate podcast, Mike Crimmins and Ben McMahan take a quick spin around the "snow-eater" temps of March, plus a brief comment on fire conditions. As a note: this was recorded before the SawMill Fire started in late April, so the discussion is on March conditions, and some commentary on early April Fire events (Shovel, Molino Basin). it might seem obvious now, but around 8 minutes in, but Mike hits the conditions that led to the SawMill fire pretty nicely. We'll have a full length podcast next week with Mike and Zack.
CLIMAS Member(s):  
Ben McMahan
Michael Crimmins