This is a better place for this post, so I moved it here...
It is a bit odd around here in Phoenix too. We have had fairly strong weather every other day this last week. Even blew a cement tile off my roof, broke branches off of my front yard tree. It lost half of it's bulk. Not very normal for here, not at that level anyway.
But Phoenix is like that. I planted a fast growing tree in the back yard years ago, hoping for some picnic shade. But every 8 months or so the weather would somehow tip off my roof and between me and the neighbor, making some kind of shear, and BAM, it would wind-bomb the tree. That would tear it down to half it's size each time. Pretty hopeless for shade.
This is our 'monsoon season' which is usually fairly trivial compared to other countries. Except for maybe one flash flood in the mountains and a a few days of heavy rain, it usually just ends our fire season. Yet last year was very very dry. But this year, the front tree has ripped up, and that tile has fallen. Still Phoenix has nothing to gripe about, unless this keeps up for many more days, then we will see. We don't have the infrastructure to handle very much.
Frankly, Tucson is the one that gets it worse. They actually have streets that are alternate drainage canals. Whenever it gets like this, those fill up, and some poor fool will say, that's not too deep for a car! Then they drive into it, and get swept away into deeper water, you know the rest.
The thing I am aware of, (as you probably are too) there is a relationship between ocean heat and cloud cover over land.
On a broad and general scale...
At some point the oceans will have gathered a bunch of heat. That will at some point work to build enough moisture in the air. There is then potential that you get cloud cover, and then rain over the land. Yadda, yadda all sounds normal.
But that cloud cover reflects some heat, cooling the land and air. That cooled air moves back over the oceans. The difference puts extra moisture in the air.
All fine unless that heat difference is at some higher threshold.
Meanwhile, the ocean still has more excess heat, and will continue to dump moisture into the air, until the difference between the land and air balance out.
More complex than that, and usually much smaller in scale. But still, at some higher threshold, it explains flooding in multiple places around the world, at the same time. In this case after the summer has reached past the peak point in the northern hemisphere.
Hurricanes are an example of the result of crossing one threshold. Are we now at another?
Anyway, I'm worried about all these places, and all these people.
PS Added from CNN:
"Forecast rainfall totals across the US have a bulls eye with the highest amounts directly over Arizona in the next five days. Monsoonal moisture is expected to bring more than 5 inches of rainfall to some regions of the state, prompting significant flash flooding concerns."
Yes, definitely that is not normal for around here. All the places I see for holding water look full as I drove into work today. -Arak
Not a "1000 years", my wife remembers clearly it happening in Zhengzhou before, and because it was the bad old Mao Ze Dong days with lots of poverty, many people starved to death when the crops were destroyed. Many came to our Province apparently begging for food and shelter, her Mum and Dad were a Nurse and a Doctor, and they helped many, that's why she remembers it so well.
I am critical of China for not having National swimming programs, this is a Country of water, there are rivers, lakes, dams everywhere, yet most of them can't swim, most can't even tread water, terrible watching these people drowning in simple situations where we would be laughing it off. All Australians are taught to swim at school because 90% live close to the Oceans.
There's other stupidity going on as well, they are walking through flood waters, which you just don't, grabbing on to light steel poles and dropping dead from electrocution, disappearing down drains, trying to drive their cars through flooded streets etc. I am appalled at the stupidity of those who went and caught the subway trains, I hope they do something about that in the future. The last place you go is down underground in massive rain storms. Many deaths could have been avoided with some of the most basic information.
Also your concerns should be going out to Germany as well, they are suffering badly, over 200 perished when they find everybody.
By the way, in my own town here in Sichuan, about 10 years ago, I saw 10" of rain drop in an hour, it was frightening. Even the World record, in Missouri, is 12" in an hour. It wasn't like rain drops, but like continuous streams of water from millions of hoses that you couldn't even see through.
PS: Posts like this remind me we are all people who generally care for each other, and the nonsense between Nation's Governments doesn't matter, appreciated.
..............
I actually came here just let you know I have been tinkering, but otherwise a slow week as it's been over 100F degrees in the factory every day this week as Summer peaks.
The Summer rains started the last 2 days, so will start cooling things down.
It is a bit odd around here in Phoenix too. We have had fairly strong weather every other day this last week. Even blew a cement tile off my roof, broke branches off of my front yard tree. It lost half of it's bulk. Not very normal for here, not at that level anyway.
But Phoenix is like that. I planted a fast growing tree in the back yard years ago, hoping for some picnic shade. But every 8 months or so the weather would somehow tip off my roof and between me and the neighbor, making some kind of shear, and BAM, it would wind-bomb the tree. That would tear it down to half it's size each time. Pretty hopeless for shade.
This is our 'monsoon season' which is usually fairly trivial compared to other countries. Except for maybe one flash flood in the mountains and a a few days of heavy rain, it usually just ends our fire season. Yet last year was very very dry. But this year, the front tree has ripped up, and that tile has fallen. Still Phoenix has nothing to gripe about, unless this keeps up for many more days, then we will see. We don't have the infrastructure to handle very much.
Frankly, Tucson is the one that gets it worse. They actually have streets that are alternate drainage canals. Whenever it gets like this, those fill up, and some poor fool will say, that's not too deep for a car! Then they drive into it, and get swept away into deeper water, you know the rest.
The thing I am aware of, (as you probably are too) there is a relationship between ocean heat and cloud cover over land.
On a broad and general scale...
At some point the oceans will have gathered a bunch of heat. That will at some point work to build enough moisture in the air. There is then potential that you get cloud cover, and then rain over the land. Yadda, yadda all sounds normal.
But that cloud cover reflects some heat, cooling the land and air. That cooled air moves back over the oceans. The difference puts extra moisture in the air.
All fine unless that heat difference is at some higher threshold.
Meanwhile, the ocean still has more excess heat, and will continue to dump moisture into the air, until the difference between the land and air balance out.
More complex than that, and usually much smaller in scale. But still, at some higher threshold, it explains flooding in multiple places around the world, at the same time. In this case after the summer has reached past the peak point in the northern hemisphere.
Hurricanes are an example of the result of crossing one threshold. Are we now at another?
Anyway, I'm worried about all these places, and all these people.
PS Added from CNN:
"Forecast rainfall totals across the US have a bulls eye with the highest amounts directly over Arizona in the next five days. Monsoonal moisture is expected to bring more than 5 inches of rainfall to some regions of the state, prompting significant flash flooding concerns."
Yes, definitely that is not normal for around here. All the places I see for holding water look full as I drove into work today. -Arak