Wind, fire and rain.
The region has seen it all over the past several weeks, particularly the wind.
However, the rains, and a bit of snow, finally showed up earlier this week.
A steady rain drenched the area overnight Sunday into Monday morning, briefly turning into snow in the morning.
Yuma received a total of 1.04 inches of precipitation. It was the first significant moisture event in months. In fact, it was more moisture than the combined precipitation of the first four months of 2022 — 0.97 of an inch, including zero in February, and 9/100ths of an inch in April.
The past month was all about the wind.
Admittedly, it is always windy, but the region has been buffeted by strong winds almost daily.
According to the CoAgMET weather station at the Irrigation Research Foundation site, there were two days in April with gusts above 50 miles per hour, including on the fire-plagued April 22. There were four days with gusts above 40 mph, and 13 more days with gusts above 30 mph. Only two days in April had gusts below 20 mph.
Even with the soaking rain earlier this week, and the turn of the calendar, the winds have continued. It whipped up again Monday at about noon as the moisture subsided, with wind gusts of 33 mph. It also was windy prior to the storm, with the wind on Sunday gusting to 36 mph.
Also, the rain storm was accompanied by lightning and booming thunder. The lightning led to some fires in the region, though none that the Yuma Volunteer Fire Department had to respond to, prior to the rain falling.
The precipitation definitely was a welcome development for a parched dryland winter wheat crop, as well as rangeland, and everybody’s yards, trees, shrubs and all vegetation. It came as farmers prepare to plant corn and other summer crops.
