Desert Weather
Watch the Skies
These two areas were drivable roads until the rain came.
Flash Flooding
- Keep informed, know what the weather is doing. Flash flooding is a very real danger in the southwest deserts.
- Check your local TV station or with a web sites such as: http://www.wunderground.com/ or http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/vef/ for weather forecasts. Always check the weather before venturing into the back country. What's happening where you are located could be totally different from what is happening weather-wise 20 miles away.
- Flash flooding can and does occur when you least expect it. It can be clear overhead where you are located but miles away a localized thunderstorm may be dropping a lot of rain that may end up in the wash or canyon where you just happen to be. Bottom line, check the weather before you leave home, and if you have a radio with you, check it. Don't just rely on a visual check of the sky especially during the late summer to early fall when the flash flooding is at its height.
The Area:
- Try to know as much as possible about the area that you are going to be in so that you can prepare as much as possible.
Basic Clouds:
 Cirrus - high wispy clouds, usually fair weather clouds, point in the direction of air motion
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 Cumulus - usually puffy with vertical development, fair weather clouds |
 Stratocumulus - can be widely scattered, low lumpy clouds, weak precipitation
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Nimbostratus - usually low clouds, dark with rain |
 Stratus - usually the lowest of the low clouds, rain and drizzle can be produced from stratus clouds
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Cumulonimbus - can produce lightning, thunder, and heavy rain, strong winds, hail, just plain old nasty weather |
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