Sunday, September 15, 2013

Albuquerque Gets Hammered by Rain Saturday Night



1.13 inches at the airport. Jeepers! Tonight, Mother Nature showered ABQ with some of that special Colorado love. I mean, this never happens, especially these dessicated days. It's probably rained more this week than the previous year. What happened?

Compared to the semi-tropics (like AU) the rainfall amounts are modest, but like many desert places, NM soils have a caliche layer just below the surface that inhibits absorption (e.g., in Breaking Bad terms, in the pit Walt and Jesse dig for Saul, you can actually see the whitish caliche layer). So, heavy rain runs off sooner than it would, say, in Florida, or the UK. They have been getting some flooding (e.g., San Felipe Pueblo area, near the wooded area where Walt shoots Mike). On the other hand, those woods REQUIRE flooding in order to reseed. With the brutal drought, I'm amazed the trees are still alive. They desperately need exactly this calamity to survive. So, on balance, I love it. Even if NM gets to be Colorado Jr., let it fall!

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