A Flock of Nazguls

Deborah in Phoenix observes:

outside, weird oppressive feel almost like before tornados.

Several days ago, the forecast looked like we'd have another one of those faux-quasi-monsoonal periods in AZ: lots of afternoon thunderstorms for several days, but not exactly the REAL monsoon, because there is definitely a trough off the coast of the western U.S., and the REAL monsoon doesn't occur until all that springtime mid-latitude trough fluff migrates north.

Today's reality is that there is a weak front passing through AZ. There is a band of convection and rainfall that is remarkably long and thin. What is even more interesting is the front is expressing itself as a long, long, filament, extending from way, way down Baja, halfway down the Sea of Cortez, all the way up into Utah and even into the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho and Montana. It almost looks like a flock of birds streaming northwards from the tropics towards Salt Lake City, as if from (or towards) Mordor.

Don't panic, though: these are sparrows, not Nazguls.