Getting Up Early!

[Kathianne]

I've been told by many that I moved to Sedona, AZ during the one season that is blistering hot. On the plus side though, summer also has the 'monsoon' rains, which I've been waiting for.

Thursday there was a build up of some pretty interesting clouds, a few drops of rain.

Friday there was an impressive display of thunder and lightening, a few more drops of rain.

I must say, I was wondering about all the warnings of 'flash flooding' and overwhelmed washes.

Well last night it was cloudy. At 3 am there was lightening all over, a bit of rain. By 4 there was what in IL we'd call a 'spring shower,' really. However, it's different in the desert:

[Drummond]

I've been told by many that I moved to Sedona, AZ during the one season that is blistering hot. On the plus side though, summer also has the 'monsoon' rains, which I've been waiting for.

Thursday there was a build up of some pretty interesting clouds, a few drops of rain.

Friday there was an impressive display of thunder and lightening, a few more drops of rain.

I must say, I was wondering about all the warnings of 'flash flooding' and overwhelmed washes.

Well last night it was cloudy. At 3 am there was lightening all over, a bit of rain. By 4 there was what in IL we'd call a 'spring shower,' really. However, it's different in the desert:

Some really great pics .. many thanks !

Just goes to show how different the various parts of this world are. Anyone seeing the cloud cover that first photo showed us would, over here in the UK, know without any doubt that they were minutes away, at best, from a torrential downpour.

Even across the UK, there are marked differences to the weather. I used to live in London ... now I'm a couple of hundred miles away, in Wales. Wales gets more rain throughout the year, and temperatures are usually a bit lower. This time of the year, on a 'good' day, you could rely on London getting around ten degrees fahrenheit warmer than Wales (last Friday was a good example of that - 81 degrees in London, if I remember the reports correctly, but only 70 degrees here ...).

[Kathianne]

Some really great pics .. many thanks !

Just goes to show how different the various parts of this world are. Anyone seeing the cloud cover that first photo showed us would, over here in the UK, know without any doubt that they were minutes away, at best, from a torrential downpour.

Even across the UK, there are marked differences to the weather. I used to live in London ... now I'm a couple of hundred miles away, in Wales. Wales gets more rain throughout the year, and temperatures are usually a bit lower. This time of the year, on a 'good' day, you could rely on London getting around ten degrees fahrenheit warmer than Wales (last Friday was a good example of that - 81 degrees in London, if I remember the reports correctly, but only 70 degrees here ...).

That's true. That first pic was taken about 5:08 am, rain was just stopping.

There's not much rain here, avg about 18" a year. I'm from Chicago, perhaps not as wet as Wales, but it would be close!

Sedona weather averages

Annual high temperature:	75.6°F
Annual low temperature:	45.8°F
Average temperature:	60.7°F
Average annual precipitation - rainfall:	18.94 inch

Chicago weather averages

Annual high temperature:	59.3°F
Annual low temperature:	43.3°F
Average temperature:	51.3°F
Average annual precipitation - rainfall:	39.04 inch
Days per year with precipitation - rainfall:	119 days
Annual hours of sunshine:	2504 hours

[Drummond]

Thanks for that, Kathianne.

I'm not in Cardiff, though Cardiff is probably the nearest major city to where I'm located (I can reach it after around 15 minutes' travel by rail). So this serves as representative of the weather I can usually expect :-

http://www.holiday-weather.com/cardiff/averages/

July is the hottest month in Cardiff with an average temperature of 16°C (61°F) and the coldest is February at 4°C (39°F) with the most daily sunshine hours at 7 in July. The wettest month is January with an average of 90mm of rain. The best month to swim in the sea is in August when the average sea temperature is 14°C (57°F)

<form id="temperature-toggler" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-style: none;">

</form>

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
°C	5	4	7	8	11	14	16	16	15	12	8	6
°F	41	39	44	46	52	57	61	61	58	53	46	43

Unfortunately, I've been unable to reproduce the graphs as they appear in the link (though the link should work, of course). Still, you can maybe see from the information recorded in the table how our weather here compares with your own ...

[SassyLady]

Some AZ sunsets from my house

[SassyLady]

Sunset from CA house:

[jimnyc]

Nice pictures, ladies! I wish I could wake up in the am and go outside and enjoy a coffee looking at that. It's not bad here in the 'burbs, but it is NY... Nothing better than going out on a patio or table outside, early in the morn to watch the sun rise.

Jeff and I used to get up at like 5:30 while vacationing in North Carolina, right on the water. While I was still a smoker at the time - man it was awesome to go out on the back deck and enjoy a coffee while watching the water and sun.

[darin]

love it. Must get to the desert soon.

[NightTrain]

Awesome pics!

I miss the thunderstorms and lightning shows... they're extremely rare in this part of AK.

And that heat you guys have would just kill me. At 80 I'm uncomfortable.

[SassyLady]

Awesome pics!

I miss the thunderstorms and lightning shows... they're extremely rare in this part of AK.

And that heat you guys have would just kill me. At 80 I'm uncomfortable.

If someone could show me how to upload videos here I would post a video of a monsoon at the AZ house and a video of a lightning show.

Alas, I tried uploading videos to photobucket but can't get them here.

[SassyLady]

Nice pictures, ladies! I wish I could wake up in the am and go outside and enjoy a coffee looking at that. It's not bad here in the 'burbs, but it is NY... Nothing better than going out on a patio or table outside, early in the morn to watch the sun rise.

Jeff and I used to get up at like 5:30 while vacationing in North Carolina, right on the water. While I was still a smoker at the time - man it was awesome to go out on the back deck and enjoy a coffee while watching the water and sun.

Jim, if you notice, I said "sunsets" because very rarely do I see a sunrise here in CA. Usually morning ocean fog keeps the sunrise a secret.

[Jeff]

Nice pictures, ladies! I wish I could wake up in the am and go outside and enjoy a coffee looking at that. It's not bad here in the 'burbs, but it is NY... Nothing better than going out on a patio or table outside, early in the morn to watch the sun rise.

Jeff and I used to get up at like 5:30 while vacationing in North Carolina, right on the water. While I was still a smoker at the time - man it was awesome to go out on the back deck and enjoy a coffee while watching the water and sun.

And the waitress at the little Diner we would go get breakfast at wasn't bad either

[Trigg]

Beautiful pictures, looks like a nice place to visit. However, having lived in Florida for a number of years and missing out on seasons I enjoy living up North again and getting away from the heat. Even if I have to endure a winter like the last one we had.

Here is a pic of a sunset from my backyard

[SassyLady]

Beautiful pictures, looks like a nice place to visit. However, having lived in Florida for a number of years and missing out on seasons I enjoy living up North again and getting away from the heat. Even if I have to endure a winter like the last one we had.

Here is a pic of a sunset from my backyard

Hey, you live with that guy who has the really neat house with the awesome yard!!! I'm envious!