# Heavy rains, severe thunderstorm



## David Baxter PhD (Jun 13, 2018)

Has already hit Toronto, apparently very heavy rains.

Just starting to hit Ottawa area now... Poor Mindy is already getting spooked. :meow:

Perfect night for a horror movie if we don't lose power...


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## Daniel (Jun 13, 2018)

I can't wait for it to rain in Arizona so it will cool down. Should rain by this weekend. Much of the state has been precipitation free for almost 3 months.   It is so dry all the parks and trails are closed to prevent people accidentally starting more fires.


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## David Baxter PhD (Jun 13, 2018)

Weather often seems to be one extreme or another these days, doesn't it?


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## Daniel (Jun 13, 2018)

Regarding pets and thunder, I used a Thundershirt for my dog in Florida and it really helped.  They sell them for cats too:

Introducing the Thundershirt For Cats! - YouTube


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## David Baxter PhD (Jun 13, 2018)

She’s usually okay as long as I’m close by. 

In any case, it turned out to be much ado about nothing. About 30 minutes of rain, some strong gusts of wind, a bit of lightning, and now the sun is out. Guess we just got the edge of the storm.


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## David Baxter PhD (Jun 13, 2018)

Just watched that video though. I should look into that even for just getting her into the carrier for the vet.


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## forgetmenot (Jun 13, 2018)

Same here lots of wind and rain but only for a short time now it is sunny and windy  We did not get any thunder or lightening


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## Daniel (Jun 14, 2018)

That is what happens here in the winter with the storm warnings.    Weather service warns we may get 4 inches of snow.  We are more likely to get just a dusting of snow.


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## GaryQ (Jun 14, 2018)

Daniel said:


> That is what happens here in the winter with the storm warnings.    Weather service warns we may get 4 inches of snow.  We are more likely to get just a dusting of snow.



Snow in Arizona? mg: How often?


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## Daniel (Jun 14, 2018)

It snows at least 5 or 6 times each winter where I am in North Arizona.  I live in the mountains about a mile above sea level. So I live where the "mountain breeze meets the desert." 

Phoenix is what most people think of.  It is a valley closer to sea level and about 2 hours south.   It is much hotter at about 20 degrees Fahrenheit more.  So today it was like 91 Fahrenheit here (33 C) and 110 F (43 C) in Phoenix.

The reason we moved to Arizona was we were on vacation and were shocked how cool it was in the summer in Flagstaff (which is on the way to the Grand Canyon).   But it is expensive to live in Flagstaff, so I live halfway between Flagstaff and Phoenix.

It snows a lot in Flagstaff though, and it is a popular place to go skiing.


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## GaryQ (Jun 14, 2018)

Daniel said:


> So today it was like 91 Fahrenheit here (33 C) and *110 F (43 C)* in Phoenix.



And to think my heart starts pumping oil above 25C... I'd literally die just one day in that heat! 

Thanks for helping me remember why I love to live in the Canadian Prairies


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## Daniel (Jun 14, 2018)

The most surprising thing about Phoenix to me is that it is hot at night too.  There really is no relief.   It is 96 F (35.5 C) in Phoenix now, and it is almost 11 PM.

(Where I am though it is always cool at night, even in the summer.)


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## David Baxter PhD (Jun 14, 2018)

re: The comment by @Daniel about the fire threats in Arizona - Heavy rains, severe thunderstorm - this is much more serious and widespread than I realized:

*'Like dominoes': Utah homes burn as wildfires menace U.S. West*
_CBC News_
June 14, 2018

A fast-moving brush fire destroyed eight homes in the Utah  tourist town of Moab, while more than 3,000 people in Colorado and  Wyoming fled multiple wildfires scorching the drought-stricken U.S. West  on Wednesday.

The blaze in Moab, known for its dramatic red  rocks, started in a wooded area Tuesday night and quickly spread to  homes over less than a square kilometre, Police Chief Jim Winder said.  Crews were extinguishing embers Wednesday.

Moab residents Tim  Clark and his girlfriend Tina Saunders grabbed their dogs, family photos  and a laptop, evacuating with their home in flames. "Those houses just started going like dominoes," Clark told the Salt Lake Tribune . "Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!"

Police  said the early investigation has ruled out natural causes for the blaze  that ignited near a creek that is frequently used as a walkway in a  largely blue-collar neighbourhood. It was not near the tourist-heavy  areas in the town known for its proximity to Arches and Canyonlands  national parks.

Moab resident Shane Tangren told the newspaper  that he arrived home from work Tuesday evening to find flames nearby. He  was trying to protect the house he's lived in since he was 16 by  wetting it down, but the wind shifted and sent the flames barrelling  right toward him. He fled.

"I sat there and watched it burn to the  ground," Tangren, 55, told the newspaper. "Everything — photographs,  birth certificates, memories — it's all gone. My first car — that was a  1970 (Pontiac) GTO. Up in flames. I bought it when I was 15."

Fierce wind gusts and brutally bone-dry conditions are expected  on Thursday across a five-state region. Red flag warnings have been  issued for parts of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, where  winds gusts could reach 65 kilometres an hour and humidity drop to 5 per  cent throughout the day, the National Weather Service said.

Weather  conditions along with possible dry lightning from thunderstorms could  contribute to "extreme fire behaviour" on Thursday in southwest United  States where more than two dozen wildfires are currently burning, the  service warned. 

Firefighters were hoping for some relief from a  promising shift in weather patterns forecast for Friday, some of it  associated with Hurricane Bud, which on Wednesday was off the Pacific  coast of Mexico.

In Colorado's mountains, residents have evacuated  more than 1,300 houses — condos, apartments and pricey homes — as  flames threatened an area known for its ski resorts. Firefighters, with  help from aircraft, got a quick jump on a fire near Silverthorne after  it was reported Tuesday.

Summit Fire Chief Jeff Berino said  Wednesday night that lightning did not play a role in the fire and that  "some type of human element is probably likely" as a cause.

Across  the state, Colorado's largest fire has burned about 111 square  kilometres over nearly two weeks. Residents could go back to about 180  homes no longer threatened at the northern edge of the fire Wednesday,  but others remained out of more than 1,900 houses.

The  blaze about 43 kilometres north of Durango is in the Four Corners  region where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet and which is in  the middle of a large swath of exceptional drought. Much of the U.S.  West is experiencing some level of drought.

Colorado Gov. John  Hickenlooper said the rapid response from emergency crews has helped  prevent a repeat of devastating wildfires in 2012 and 2013.Years ago, he  said fire departments were hesitant to commit resources to fighting  every fire, and launching a co-ordinated response to a major blaze could  take up to two days.

Hickenlooper said better co-ordination has  cut down on delays, and the state reimburses local departments for  initial response costs, in an attempt to control a blaze before it can  spread.

"We learned a lot from the disasters, the fires we had in 2012 and 2013," Hickenlooper told reporters.
Meanwhile,  a wildfire in Wyoming's Medicine Bow National Forest doubled in size  over 24 hours, burning about 21 square kilometres. Nearly 400 seasonal  and permanent homes have been evacuated because of the fire near the  Colorado border.

The fire has destroyed some structures, but investigators have not said how many or what type. 

The  situation was better in central Washington, where authorities lifted  evacuation orders or warnings for about 50 residents as crews work to  contain a wildfire burning grass and brush.
Officials said one small outbuilding was lost but no injuries have been reported.


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