It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Snow!

Our long awaited winter storm has arrived. Awoke this Saturday morning to snow, and though it's barely sticking (so far) here at about 3,900 feet elevation, Mingus is covered in white. It's coming down slowly, but steadily. Two-and-a-half feet are forecast for Flagstaff.

That's just what the doctor ordered for an exceptionally dry winter, so far. The snow will melt slowly after the storm passes, and soak deeply into the ground. The moisture will get slowly and deeply absorbed into the wood of the trees, helping to reduce fire danger. The runoff will recharge our aquifer, streams, and reservoirs.

I'm hoping it snows all day and tomorrow, as it's forecast to do. Then, finally break out my cross country skis, head to the San Francisco Peaks, and do some serious sliding around.

2% humidity

We did it again. This happened about a month ago. And again yesterday. At 5:05 p.m., according to the National Weather Service, our air temperature was 71 degrees, and our dew point was an incredible 22 degrees below. Wow, that means the air is so dry that even if our temp dropped to 21 below zero dew would not form on the grass. That translates to 2% humidity, the lowest I've ever seen anywhere.

But changes loom on the horizon. The NWS is forecasting today the possibility of heavy rain and snow later in the week. It will be a welcome change!