Grand Canyon News

Here we are gearing up for Memorial Day weekend at Grand Canyon National Park, but this morning, it felt more like autumn.  The day dawned crisp and cold.  Last night that ol’ mercury dipped down to 28 degrees!  No kidding – 28 degrees.  BRRRRRRRRRRR!  Some of the planes were a little late departing because they had to give the ice a chance to melt.  Just when we were getting used to sunshine and 80 degrees!   

As Memorial Day approaches and I reflect on the 20 years I’ve lived and worked in and around the Grand Canyon area, I realize that about half of the Memorial Day holidays I’ve spent here have had weather that’s not quite your garden variety summer vacation weather.  In fact, my very first Memorial Day at the Grand Canyon brought sleet, snow, hail and a little bit of sunshine toward the end of the day.  I’ve woken up to 6 inches of snow in the middle of June (two years in a row!), had sunshine and blue skies on Christmas day.  You name it, Mother Nature has brought it at the Grand Canyon.  I guess you always have to remember that at 7,000′, anything is possible, meteorologically speaking.  Sometimes the Grand Canyon even seems to make its own weather.  If you go see the IMAX Movie “Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets,” the parting shot is of a small, solitary storm cloud making its way across the chasm, when suddenly it shoots out a lightning bolt with a loud clap of thunder, and then the screen fades to black.  It’s cool! 

Is there a moral to this little story?  Yes: be prepared for just about anything out here.  Keep an eye on the weather as your trip date approaches.  Use your favorite weather website and put in zip code “86023.”  Some will also let you use the airport locator code for a city; Grand Canyon’s is “GCN.”  Even if the forecast calls for perfect conditions, it’s a good idea to at least pack a light jacket for that sunset stroll along the canyon rim.  At that altitude, the temperature drops rapidly after the sun goes down. 

Lately we’ve also been prone to afternoon thunderstorms known as “monsoons.”  A typical monsoon day starts out clear.  Then as the day goes on, clouds move in from the South, producing thunderstorms that are typically brief, but often intense, with lightning, heavy rain, loud thunder, the works.  This phenomenon in itself is not unusual; what’s kind of odd is that typically, these storms don’t surface until later in the summer.  But then again, the weather these past few years has been anything but typical.  One of the wettest winters on record was followed by one of the driest on record, so go figure!  By the way, the next few days are supposed to be gorgeous, but if you’re camping, bundle up – nights are still getting down into the 30’s!

Have a great time out here folks, and remember: safety first, always!  Please, please, please, please, PLEASE do not stand on the canyon rim during a lightning storm.  And please, please, please, please, PLEASE don’t try to drive across a flooded road if you happen to encounter one.  If you get caught in a dust storm, don’t try to drive through it.  Pull over until it passes.  Please please please don’t feed the animals, please please please don’t try to hike to the bottom of the canyon and back in a day, please please please don’t forget to drink enough water and please please please don’t go driving off down a dirt road if you don’t know where it goes.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everybody!