Latest news with #PhoenixSkyHarborAirport
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
As Alvin degenerates, remnants could bring unusual pre-monsoon rainfall over Desert Southwest
PHOENIX – A surge of moisture, due in part to the placement of an upper-level low and the tropical moisture field from the Northern Hemisphere's first tropical cyclone of the year, will lead to increased rain chances across the Southwest over the next several days. Moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Alvin will help increase humidity levels and eventually rain chances for cities such as Phoenix and Yuma, and potentially as far west as Las Vegas and Palm Springs, California. Forecast models generally expect less than 0.25 inches of rainfall across southeast California, while parts of Arizona could see totals closer to half an inch. Forecasters caution that rainfall amounts could be enhanced over higher terrain, where totals of up to an inch are possible, potentially leading to minor flooding in downstream areas. An isolated thunderstorm cannot be ruled out, but the main impact will come from the unusual rainfall for this time of year. Southwest Monsoon Season Is Here: What You Need To Know According to National Weather Service historical data, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport has only recorded measurable rainfall 38 times during the last week of May and the first week of June. Rainfall during this period is even rarer in Yuma, which has only recorded measurable rain 11 times during the same window since the late 1800s. The FOX Forecast Center stresses that the increased humidity and rainfall are not part of the annual monsoon, which typically begins around June 15 and lasts through Sept. 30. Cities in the Southwest accumulate roughly half of their annual precipitation during the months of June, July, August and September, though amounts can vary significantly. The monsoon pattern is closely linked to the status of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, or what is commonly called the ENSO. During La Niña events, the monsoon signal is typically more expansive and leads to heavier rainfall, while El Niño conditions can delay the start of the rainy season. How To Watch Fox Weather The unusual early-season rainfall will bring major benefits, including reduced wildfire potential and cooler temperatures. Highs during the second half of the weekend are expected to only reach the lower 90s, a significant drop from recent temperatures reaching 100-110 degrees. Any relief is expected to be temporary, as a building heat dome late next week and into the second week of June could bring the hottest temperatures of the year so article source: As Alvin degenerates, remnants could bring unusual pre-monsoon rainfall over Desert Southwest
USA Today
30-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Nelly Korda stumbles, a rookie bombs a 3-wood, Lilia Vu rallies to lead Ford Championship
Nelly Korda stumbles, a rookie bombs a 3-wood, Lilia Vu rallies to lead Ford Championship CHANDLER, Ariz. — Wind was an afternoon visitor the first two days at Whirldwind Golf Club. On Saturday, it was a constant companion throughout the day at the 2025 Ford Championship, it showed on the scorecards being signed at the Cattail Course 15 miles south of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. There were 74 golfers who made the cut and of the 148 rounds they played over the first two days, just eight scores were over par. Saturday, of the 74 rounds played, there were 13 over-par rounds and another nine even-par rounds. Who leads the 2025 Ford Championship after 54 holes? The same golfer who led after 36 holes, and that is Lilia Vu. After a 1-under front nine, she made birdie on the par-3 11th to get to 16 under and take a one-shot lead. Two holes later, Vu was leading by three. Just as she built that lead, though, she gave it back in a hurry with a double bogey at 14. Combined with a birdie by Charley Hull on 16 just minutes later and things were knotted up at 15 under. Then Vu put the gas pedal down: On 15, she poured in a long bending putt for birdie to get to 16 under On 16, she stuffed her approach close for a kick-in birdie to get to 17 under On 17, she was on in two and two-putted for a third straight birdie to get to 18 under Talk about your double-bogey bounce-backs. "I think I didn't think too much about that double bogey. Obviously I was upset with it, but I know where my game is at, and that's not going to really knock me down," she said. "My caddie actually said on the hole after, all I have to do is get you on the green, and whatever happens happens." Hull would sneak in a side-door birdie on 18 to post a third-round 68 and get to 16 under. Vu would par her final hole and sign for a 4-under 68 as well to take two-shot lead into the final round. She'll play alongside Hull in Sunday's final round. Stat of the day Nelly Korda, the tournament's defending champ who's seeking her first win in 2025, was 9-for-9 making birdie on the par 5s so far this week. But that streak ended on the second par 5, No. 6, on Saturday when Korda missed with the putter from just off the green. She would take par there as well as the par-5 12th and 17th. Korda was tied for second after 36 holes but couldn't keep pace in the third round. A bogey on the 16th, and her first three-putt of the week, dropped her to even par on the day and four back of the lead. She bogeyed the last for a 1-over round of 73 and tumble down the board to a tie for 19th. She'll start the final round seven shots of the pace. Round of the day Yahui Zhang is a 19-year-old LPGA rookie from China who said ahead of the third round, the wind was swirling in her thoughts. "I was quite worry about today, the score I got at the morning, because the wind I saw on the app is really big and the pin place is quite difficult when I saw on the email," she said. "So I just talking with my father and I just, just do it. I'm the rookie. What I'm worry about? Just like that." Just like that, indeed, as Zhang went out and posted the round of the day, a 7-under 65 in just her second LPGA event after spending last year on the Epson Tour. She was 8 under with six birdies and an eagle until a closing-hole bogey but she has made her presence known this week. Shot of the day Also Zhang, who drove the par-4 fifth hole with her 3-wood, running her ball down the 264-yard hole and then drained a putt from seven feet for an eagle 2. "So I was thinking, first I was thinking use driver, but I think that's too much, and also, and then I think just use 3-wood and the wind is right to left, and at the first two hole the wind is quite blow pretty more to my ball," she explained. "So I just thinking I should aiming more right. If I can play on the green, I just play on the green. If I can play the bunker beside the green, I just put that there. I mean, just want ball safe at there. I didn't expect that my ball there is only three yards far to the hole I just said, 'Oh, I got chance for eagle.' If I can't putting, it's still a birdie. I just try it. I just do it. Just kind of like that." Just kind of like that. Zhang has posted scores of 69-68-65, each round an improvement over the previous one and she's in the thick of it in just her second LPGA start. Quote of the day Vu was asked about any off-course distractions she's been enjoying recently. "My caddie and I have been discussing "White Lotus" [a series on HBO] with the recent episode. He hasn't been caught up, but his wife is here now, so they can watch the episode together, and I expect him tomorrow to give me his spiel on it because he's not caught up yet," she said. How does the Ford Championship leaderboard look? Vu leads by two at 18 under, with Hull two back. Sunday's penultimate group will be Ayaka Furue and Nanna Koerstz-Madsen, who are tied for third at 15 under. There's a five-way tie for fifth at 14 under and a four-way tie for 10th at 13 under, a group that includes Lydia Ko and Yealimi Noh.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Rainfall is officially measured at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Why? Here's what to know
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport is the official measure of weather in the city. Any records, rainfall or temperatures, depend on what happens at the airport. It rained at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Wednesday, officially ending the city's second-longest dry streak on record. Even though other areas saw rain at times throughout the dry streak, it didn't count because it wasn't at the airport. Why is that? Meteorologist Isaac Smith with the National Weather Service in Phoenix said it is typical for weather measuring stations to be located at airports because weather data is essential for aviation operations. Here's what Phoenix residents need to know about Sky Harbor's official weather gauges and sensors. The official measuring station hasn't always been at the airport. Starting in 1895 when records were first kept, the official temperature was recorded in the city's downtown. It wasn't until 1954 that meteorologists began making observations at the airport. "Determining the wind speeds, wind directions, visibility and other factors, data, play into aviation," he said. "That's why we have this weather station at Sky Harbor." The airport's observing station is a joint effort between the weather services, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the U.S. Department of Defense. The station includes sensors to measure wind speeds, dew point, air temperature, present weather, precipitation type and amount, visibility, cloud height and station pressure. The instruments have been moved a couple of times as the airport expanded. They have been in their current location near the southern edge of the airport since 2000, Smith said. More: How much rain did metro Phoenix get? See rainfall totals, weather radar and forecast The Weather Service strives for consistency not only at a particular location but within its network of stations throughout the country. As a result, there are standards for positioning instruments such as thermometers and rain gauges. Temperature sensors are placed in shade or, most often, in an enclosed structure that blocks sunlight but allows air to circulate. Placing the thermometer in direct sunlight could affect measurements. The enclosure also protects the thermometer from rain or snow. The instruments are automated, transmitting data to their corresponding NWS office. (The Phoenix office is actually in Tempe, not at the airport.) Considering their importance to aviation, there are backup instruments at another location on the airport grounds. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is the official rain recording station for the Phoenix metro area, but have you wondered why those readings showed more or less than your home rain gauge received? According to Rainlog, a rainfall monitoring network for Arizona, 'precipitation amounts are highly variable across Arizona due to topography and seasonal weather patterns. This is especially true during the monsoon when thunderstorms can produce heavy rainfall that is very localized.' Zack Guido, a climate scientist and director of an international research program at the University of Arizona, said that winter storms are generally more predictable and widespread than Arizona's monsoon-powered summer storms. 'In the winter, we tend to get these frontal storms that have a larger footprint, and so there is a little bit more consistency in rainfall amounts,' Guido said. 'There's just an inherent variability in a storm itself that's going to produce variability spatially in rainfall, both in amount and intensity. The closer you are to the center of the storm's activity, the higher totals of precipitation you'll get.' Arizona's monsoon season is an entirely different beast. What drives the rainfall in the summer months are convective storms — small, brief, typically weak storms that grow and die within an hour or so, according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory. 'These storms are quite localized where you could have half an inch or an inch of rain and quite literally a half mile away, no rain fell because that cell didn't pass over that area,' Guido said. Former Arizona Republic reporters Weldon B. Johnson and Caralin Nunes contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why is rainfall officially measured at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport?
