Forecast for Arizona's fire season, monsoon a tough call this year

Forest fire experts usually base part of their annual fire outlook on whether the dominant weather pattern is the so-called El Niño or the opposite La Niña.

Tucson rainfall 3.74 inches below normal

Into each life some rain must fall - unless you've been living in Tucson in recent months.

Several Pima County roads still closed today

Here is a list of road closures in Pima County as well as area where motorists should be cautious driving across washes. It was updated at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Storms spawn lush riverbed growth

This stretch of the Rillito west of the Craycroft Road bridge looked more like farm fields than riverbed on Aug. 23.

Storms spawn lush riverbed growth

Some sandy riverbeds in the Tucson area look almost like farm fields this month - cloaked with what a Pima County official called a "bumper crop" of monsoon-spawned vegetation.

A showstopper, each and every time

Lightning dancing through the sky over Saguaro National Park West.

A showstopper, each and every time

By now it’s something we Tucsonans could be blasé about, yet it still grabs our attention without fail: a spectacular seasonal light show, this time sending lightning dancing through the sky over Saguaro National Park West. Tucson woke up to an unusual morning storm Wednesday that dumped rai…

Tucson monsoon: Updated rain totals through 11:30 p.m. Wednesday

Here are some updated rain totals. Tucson International Airport, the city's official recording site, picked up 0.74" of precipitation between Tuesday and 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. A Pima County Regional Flood Control District gauge on Catalina Highway recorded 2.36" of rain — the highest total f…

Storm damage renews park's focus on making it a hiking, biking route

Golden Gate Road in Saguaro National Park West is closed now. Long-range plans are to convert the route into a trail.

Storm damage renews park's focus on making it a hiking, biking route

Golden Gate Road is closed now because of storm damage. It could reopen soon as a route for high-clearance vehicles, but long-term plans are to make it into a hiking, biking and equestrian trail.

Storm damage renews park's focus on making it a hiking, biking route

A shortage of funds had stalled plans to close a scenic road at Saguaro National Park West and convert it to a trail, but now natural forces have stepped in to revive the plans.

Tucson monsoon: Sunday's rain totals

An impressive cloud formation moved into Tucson from Cochise County around 7 p.m. last night, and was shortly followed by a storm that left impressive rain totals.

A spring revival

Yellow-orange caltrops are also called summer poppies. These were in the Tucson Mountains.

A spring revival

Barrel cactus blooms can be either red-orange or green-yellow.

A spring revival

Pincushion cacti flowers are brilliant pink.

A spring revival

A trip into the Tucson Mountains west of the city brings into view hillsides that are uncharacteristically green for this time of year, thanks to bountiful monsoon rainstorms.

A spring revival

The Sonoran Desert is showing off with a sort of "second spring" this month, thanks to repeated dousings from monsoon rains. Clumps of wildflowers dot the landscape, cacti are blooming brightly, and hillsides are cloaked in lush green growth smack in the heart of the hot desert summer.

Power outage sparks serious thoughts

A bolt of lightning lights up the desert on the northwest side.

Power outage sparks serious thoughts

The chaos started late on a recent Sunday afternoon when the power went off. Exasperated because I still had not finished resetting all the clocks from the two-second power failure the day before, I started lighting candles.

Summer heat record eludes city

The midafternoon sun beats down on Chris Duraz as he adjusts signals at a road-widening project at North La Cañada Drive and West Orange Grove Road. It was 108 degrees Wednesday, a record for the date.