To The Lifeboats!!!

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Cherie

Embry-Riddle’s Prescott campus is in the middle of monsoon season, and its hitting us harder than ever. For those of us who like rain its no big deal, actually its pretty entertaining.

Dr. Ayers

On Friday August 30th, a downpour that lasted for a good half hour or more actually flooded its way through campus. Pelting students with hail, turning sidewalks into inch deep rivers, and soaking the general populace. The most amusing part of the day (at least for students) was the flooding of classrooms where anonymous teachers continued to teach despite the tide waters rushing around their ankles. That did not last long however, in the interest of safety some classes were cut short and classrooms began to be dried out.

There is nothing to fear for those who reside on this campus, the areas through campus where flooding is most likely to occur are specifically designed with large drainage ditches so that waters can easily make their way through campus without harm to students. Furthermore, the Facilities Management Staff is a highly effective and knowledgeable team and they have responded quite well to the demands of the monsoon floods.This is probably the worst of the monsoon rains to come to campus and they won’t last long, so again the campus is only in danger of being greatly amused by the puddles.

Where are the Monsoons?

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Cherie

So apparently monsoon season in Prescott Arizona doesn’t start until July 🙁 Here I was really looking forward to all the rain and when I didnt see any of it I decided to do a little research…

Weather Patterns

As some of you may know we do have a Meteorology major offered at the Prescott Campus so I took it upon myself to ask a Meteorology student about what on earth is going on. This is what he told me 😀

Monsoons are a phenomenon that are triggered every year as a result of the Earth’s angle with the sun. So when the monsoons occur in Prescott the Earth is at a the steepest angle possible and is even farther from the sun than it is in the month of January.
So the question is this “If we are on Earth and we are farthest from the sun in July how is it that July is warmer than January?” Well, the Meteorologist in training told me that the temperature also has to do with the position the Earth holds in orbit around the sun. Yes we are farthest away from the sun at this time but, our continent is more in line with the rays of heat/sunlight during the summer months which is why it is still hotter in July than in January.

Sketch of the Angle between Earth and the Sun

Of course as an Engineer I really didn’t need to know all this but, its pretty interesting so I thought it would be nice to share 😀 If you have any comments or questions please respond below or if you would like to check out our Meteorology major just click here. Thanks for reading!!!

Monsoons in the Dessert

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Cherie

Hello everyone, I have an interesting topic today, one that personally I was kind of shocked to discover…..there are summer monsoons in Prescott AZ!!!

When I first came to Riddle Prescott campus I thought, well its the dessert, dry, sunny, pretty, very different from California but, during my first week of Air Force ROTC (zero week) in the middle of August I discovered that Riddle’s Prescott campus can be anything but predictable. Don’t take this badly, what I mean by this is that the weather during the summer months can go from warm and sunny to windy and stormy within a matter of minutes. I highly advise a large umbrella and/or rain slickers and boots for the summer months.

I will be staying at Embry Riddle’s Prescott campus for a summer session in order to work toward a minor in mathematics, so I might have some helpful tips for you if you intend to attend the university over the monsoon season.

So far, I like the monsoons, to be complete honest they are fascinating. The clouds gather in various colors of white, blue, and gray then burst out into massive downpours that can last anywhere from 2 or 3 minutes to an hour or so. The campus literally transforms itself when it rains, if you have toured the Prescott campus you have probably seen the numerous bridges, and artfully designed drainage ditches throughout inner campus. Well, when a large downpour occurrs these turn into tiny raging rivers and carry the water straight through campus without harming any of the structures or students. The campus has been specifically designed to handle the varieties of climate that this gorgeous environment displays.

An example of the climate’s variety is shown below, this image is of the local Thumb Butte Landmark in Prescott AZ. The picture was taken just as a monsoon was rolling into the area.

Thumb Butte Monsoon

An example of how most Arizona institutions handle the weather is also included below:

Bridge over Rocky Monsoon Canal on Campus

Whether you enjoy a rainy summer or not I highly encourage potential students to make at least two visits to the campus in different seasons so that they can at least experience some of the various weather that is common in Prescott Arizona. As my summer here continues I will update you on the ways I employ to combat the weather and also the fun that results from living in this beautiful and diverse area 🙂