Thursday, April 8, 2010

It's important when implementing physical features, especially when we are outside, to know what kind of weather we are dealing with. Tucson has some pretty extreme temperature differences throughout the day. There is usually about 30 degree difference between highs and lows. We also see about a 40 degree difference from the winter to the summer season. As far as rainfall goes, the average yearly rainfall is 12 inches, but over the last 10 or so years it has been more like 9 or 10 inches. Still, we are prone to big flood storms which means we get a lot of rain at once. It's not spread out evenly. When planning flood water protection and cisterns we have to take this into account.

Below is also a wind rose which shows where the wind comes from throughout the year and how strong the winds are. The strongest winds come in the late spring and early summer from the southwest. A lot of the normal wind comes from the southeast. We rarely get wind from the northeast. Thanks to the National Weather Service for all of this information.


Month Temperature Normals (deg F) Rainfall
Normals
(inches)
High Low Average
January 64.5 38.9 51.7 0.99
February 68.4 41.6 55.0 0.88
March 73.3 45.1 59.2 0.81
April 81.5 50.5 66.0 0.28
May 90.4 58.6 74.5 0.24
June 100.2 68.0 84.1 0.24
July 99.6 73.4 86.5 2.07
August 97.4 72.4 84.9 2.30
September 94.0 67.7 80.9 1.45
October 84.0 57.0 70.5 1.21
November 72.3 45.1 58.7 0.67
December 64.6 39.2 51.9 1.03

ANNUAL 82.5 54.8 68.7 12.17

Date Change!

Looks like we are postponing the workshop scheduled for the 17th of April. There is a lot going on that weekend. When everything is all settled I will give a full report of what the workshop will entail and how to get involved.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Workshop Coming Up!

We are having our first water harvesting workshop at The HangArt on Saturday, April 17th. We will be digging a couple of basins as well as setting up water barrels for the ramada. Afterward we are going to have a bbq and potluck, and maybe set up a show to be played. More info coming soon.