AquariusRadar	Radar Rain Shadow
Home	January thru June 2011/20 ten year average rainfall for Jackson and surrounding counties.
Hydrology Concept
Snowpack Enhancement	January through June average rainfall 2011/20
Ideal Candidate Radar	January thru June rainfall for Jackson County and the surrounding area returned to near normal with most reporting stations receiving 29"-32" +/-.The summer monsoon is moderate with isolated heavy rains in June. The entire region, with the exception of the radar rain shadow area, has continued recovery from the drought of 2010-11 for the 180 day period. Some areas continue with moderately dry conditions; mainly Holmes, Southern Bay, Gulf , and Calhoun Counties. The ten year average rain gage readings for June moved totals upward and they ranged from a high of 38" at Argyle and 36" at Niceville to a low of 23" at Bonifay in Holmes County; the center of the Radar Rain Shadow (Prosperity and Bonifay) remains in permanent drought. While the summer monsoon brings welcome relief, these moist periods are short-lived as the regional high pressure moves back to it's more traditional "Bermuda" position. This author considers the last 4 years as abnormally wet due to continuing strong El Nino conditions. That was reflected in the numerous marine low pressure systems which have come ashore from the Gulf of Mexico and the absence of hurricanes. El Nino has since waned in 2019. But Drought conditions can return as the high center moves westward and takes up the "Savannah" position. Dry conditions are the result of the reoccurring domes of high pressure which now dominate the Southeast, except as noted, over the last four years. A quick glance at the globe shows Jackson County in the area near 30 degrees north and the same latitude as most major desert regions. Historically, the Southeast US maintained a strong agriculture base with abundant rainfall because Gulf moisture collided with the unstable air of Temperate cyclones that were forced in a Southern arc by strong Polar high pressure systems. Global warming has weakened the Polar highs and strengthened "horse latitude" highs, forcing temperate cyclones on a distant Northern track. Ambitious politicians who fight every attempt to restrain global warming have doomed Southern agriculture to a hardscrabble and unprofitable future. Data sources can be seen here.CoCoRAHS, NW Florida Water Conservation District, and at Florida Department of Forestry.
Hail Suppression		Learn more about downwind rainfall patterns of powerful radars by veiwng the RadarRainShadow pages at the left.
Radar Rain Shadow	Jackson Still and Prosperity, two important Department of Forestry rainfall reporting locations, have been closed due to state budget cuts. This is unfortunate as these two reporting stations previously demonstrated the extremes of the Radar Rain Shadow effect. Prosperity still reports occasionally. Other area stations continue to document the long term rainfall disparity between upwind and downwind counties. The Radar Rainshadow is exemplified by the 15"+ difference between Argyle and Bonifay. Only 21 miles separates these two communities. Exactly matching equipment and techniques are used to measure the rainfall at these two Florida Forestry stations. Conventional weather science cannot explain this. The soils of Euchee Valley, Ponce de Leon, Bonifay, and other areas in the rain shadow require high levels of moisture during the summer growing season and previously produced adequate crops of hay, cotton, peanuts, etc. without irrigation. The rain shadow produced by the big radar has cut rainfall and resulted in reduced production and increased costs. The area's marginal production today is mostly paper pines and livestock grazing.The documentation attempts to show that microwave energy can transport rainfall and impact local weather. While the Radar Rainshadow is a negative for downwind counties, the impact can be readily mitigated.

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