In the March Southwest Climate Podcast, Zack Guido is back from his world travels (for work!) and joins Mike Crimmins to discuss SW climate, including winter precipitation, snowpack, and temperature reports so far. They also dive into the "warm in the west, cold in the east" pattern, and talk jetstream, polar vortex, and digging troughs as it pertains to SW weather patterns. Next up is the (finally arriving!) El Niño, which is a bit late, and a bit weak, but there are interesting aspects of...

We're trying something new with our podcast series. The regular monthly Southwest Climate Podcast will not change format or timing, and Mike, Zack, and Ben will continue to bring you monthly updates on SW climate issues. But we wanted to expand our focus to something a bit broader than just the Southwest, and to take advantage of the numerous people who are living and breathing work on climate science, communciation, outreach, education, and engagement on a daily basis. To that end - the...

In the January Southwest Climate Podcast, Zack Guido is back and joins Mike Crimmins to discuss the state of the climate in 2014, including the record year for Arizona and the near record year for New Mexico. They also talk about weather systems that affected our most recent temperature and precipitation patterns, the ongoing uncertainty with El Niño, or as as some have started referring to it, "El Limbo", and the state of precipitation and drought in the southwest. They wrap things up...

In the November Southwest Climate Podcast, Ben McMahan and Mike Crimmins discuss the warm autumn weather in the southwest, the transition to winter weather patterns, the ongoing uncertainty of El Niño forecasts, a recap of El Niño conditions and definitions, and the possibility of interaction between El Niño conditions and weather patterns in the southwest looking forward.

In the October Southwest Climate Podcast, CLIMAS climate scientists Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins discuss the 2014 monsoon, focusing on the influence of tropical storm systems, record and near-record precipitation events, monsoon intensity and duration, and the ever-present promise of El Niño.

In the September Southwest Climate Podcast, Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins talk about tropical storm climatology, details about Norbert and Odile, explore the details of the "Kelvin Wave", and answer a question about El Niño models submitted by a listener.

In the August Southwest Climate Podcast, Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins talk about variability and timing of monsoon precipitation, and why frequent and sustained moisture might matter more than heavy infrequent rains (for drought, especially). El Niño is still dragging its heels, but it still looks good for a weak to moderate event this winter. Interspersed throughout, Zack and Mike answer questions submitted by listeners, including "weather" vs. "climate" and how the monsoon is a good way...

In this episode, CLIMAS climate scientist Zack Guido speaks with Alan Forrest, Director of Tucson Water, about various strategies that Tucson implemented to deal with potential water shortages, the conservation and recapture efforts that areas of municipalities in Southern Arizona, and the practical realities of providing municipal water to an growing population in the southwest.

In this episode, CLIMAS climate scientist Zack Guido talks to Dennis Rule, manager of the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD), about the importance of CAGRD in the management of Arizona groundwater and potential impacts on the system from continued drought in the Colorado River Basin.

In this episode, CLIMAS climate scientist Zack Guido and Mohammed Mahmoud, planning analyst with the Colorado River Programs department at the CAP, discuss the Central Arizona Project (CAP) and its role in delivering Colorado River water throughout Arizona, as well as how a shortage would impact the CAP system.

In the July Southwest Climate Podcast, CLIMAS climate scientists Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins talk about the solid start to the monsoon and seemingly inevitable breaks in the monsoon (like we just experienced). They also discuss the "inevitability" of the formation of this fickle El Niño event. There’s a bit of a feeling of Groundhog Day with these forecasts—and there continues to be uncertainty regarding the strength and duration of this El Niño event.

In this episode, CLIMAS climate scientist Zack Guido hosts three University of Arizona experts, Bonnie Colby, George Frisvold and Kiyomi Morino, to discuss water supply and demand in the Colorado River basin. This podcast explores stressors on the Colorado River Basin, how these stressors may change over time, and how these changes may affect management and behaviors across the Southwest.

In this episode, we take a broad view of the Colorado River Basin, exploring how the river is managed, who uses the water, and what a potential shortage could mean for the system. Our guest is Doug Kenney, Director of the Western Water Policy Program, a division of the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy and the Environment, at the University of Colorado School of Law.

In the June Southwest Climate Podcast, CLIMAS climate scientists Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins discuss the ongoing drought conditions (especially at Mike's house), the recent slowdown of a seemingly inevitable El Niño event, and potential impacts of a climate collision between the El Nino and the Monsoon. The next 6 months will be interesting…

CLIMAS climate scientists Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins discuss the recent rain and snow in the Southwest within the context of the record dry and warm winter, as well as the dramatically warming Pacific Ocean that increasingly hints at an upcoming El Niño

In the January Southwest Climate Podcast, CLIMAS climate scientists Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins discuss the scant precipitation in recent months across the West and the role of the "ridiculously resilient ridge" - a persistent area of high pressure parked off the West Coast – in steering storms away from the region.

CLIMAS climate scientists discuss September's extreme soggy weather and its role in busting drought (or not) in the Southwest and whether climate change's finger print can be seen in the recent storms.

In the August Podcast JJ Brost, Science and Operations Officer for the National Weather Service in Tucson, and Dr. Mike Crimmins join Zack Guido for a look at monsoon precipitation in the Southwest through August.

The monsoon is here! Zack Guido, Mike Crimmins, and guest speaker J.J. Brost from the National Weather Service discuss the mechanics behind the monsoon, what we can expect from the rest of the season, and the mechanics behind fires starting at the beginning of the monsoon, such as the Yarnell fire near Prescott.

What has been the character of the past "decade of drought" in AZ and NM? Can we still expect to see a large wildfire season? What are the climate models showing for this year's monsoon? Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins answer these questions and much more in this month's episode.

What can we expect from the fast-approaching fire season? Is it too early to say anything about this year's monsoon season? Learn the answers to these and other questions in this month's Southwest Climate Podcast.

In this month's Southwest Climate Podcast, Zack Guido, Mike Crimmins, and Gregg Garfin discuss how this winter has influenced the status of drought, the snowpack situation, and streamflow forecasts across both Arizona and New Mexico.

In this edition of the Southwest Climate Podcast, Zack Guido discusses a 470-year tree-ring reconstruction of the Southwest Monsoon with Dan Griffin, PhD candidate in the UofA Geography department and author of the recently published record.

Was the "blizzard" in February unprecedented for Arizona, and did climate change play any role? In this month's podcast, Gregg Garfin and Zack Guido discuss this and the influence the storm and recent temperatures had on the state's snowpack. They also explore the status of drought in both Arizona and New Mexico, and what the precipitation forecast looks like for the next few months.

Why was the Southwest so cold in January? What's this buzz phrase "Sudden Stratospheric Warming" mean? Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins discuss this and much more in this month's Southwest Climate Podcast.