Saturday - a day of rest (and a midterm)

This class started on Monday and has been non-stop since. So we had built in an opportunity for a rest, and today was that day. To get it out of the way, the students took the midterm from 0930-1030, and then loaded up and headed out to see the Grand Canyon. Along the way, smoke from fires was noted, as was a pyrocumulus (photo to follow!) As usual for some of the students, this was their first view of the Grand Canyon, and it never fails to impress and inspire.

Before dinner, we worked out a plan for tomorrow. The monsoon occurs in surges. First, a surge of moisture gets carried northward from south of the border. This then serves as the moisture that forms the clouds and thunderstorms of the monsoon. After a few days, the moisture plume gets shut off for a variety of reasons, and things are quiet (cloud-free, no storms) for a few days. And then the cycle repeats. We had been hoping to catch a surge developing, and it looks as if tomorrow is the day! So the plan is for one group to drive fairly far south (almost to Phoenix), a second group to stay in FLG, and the third group to head midway (Sedona-Cottonwood). At certain times, each group hopes to launch a radiosonde. This will give us a good north-south picture of the developing moisture surge! Fingers crossed it will work!!!