Here are some tips to help you protect yourself and your family when a big storm hits:

Outdoors:

Lightning is attracted to metal and water, and often strike the tallest objects.

YOU ARE IN A STRIKE ZONE IF YOU HEAR THUNDER FIVE SECONDS OR LESS AFTER YOU SEE LIGHTNING!

• Stay away from wide, open areas such as fields and golf courses.
• Stay off hilltops and other high points of land.
• Don’t stand near trees or tall poles
• Get at least 7 feet away from tall objects
• Avoid metal objects such as golf carts and clubs, lawn mowers and pipes.
• Get to the lowest point of ground you can, and kneel or squat to minimize your contact points with the ground.
• Do not lie flat. This will make you a bigger target.
• Don’t huddle with others. Spread out at least 15 feet apart.
• Remove golf shoes or steel-toed boots.
• If you’re out on the water, get to land.
• If you’re in a pool, get out.

Downed Power Lines:

• Stay at least 100 feet away
• If the power line has fallen on your car while you’re in it, don’t touch anything metal in the car, and stay inside until professional help arrives.
• Never try to help someone trapped by a power line. You endanger your own safety. Instead, call 911 immediately.

Indoor Safety:

• Stay away from windows during strong winds. Tree limbs and other objects can be a hazard.
• Electrical wiring attracts lightning. Don’t use the telephone, except for emergencies.
• Lighting can move through a home’s plumbing, attracted to the metal or water. Don’t use using sinks and showers.
• Unplug computers, tv’s and other delicate electronic equipment. Consider attaching surge protectors to such equipment.

Driving Safety:

In Dust:

• Don’t enter a dust storm if you can avoid it.
• Turn headlights on and drive a slow and prudent speed.
• If you pull off the road, get as far to the right as possible. Turn off the car and headlights, and set the parking brake. Keep your foot off the brake pedal – other drivers may think you’re a car is moving.

In Rain:

• Rain reduces traction and causes streets to be slippery.  Slow your speed accordingly.
• Water on roads may be deeper than it looks. Watch for vehicles travelling too fast. They can throw up blinding sheets of water.
• Don’t cross rain-swollen washes. You can be caught in a flash flood that can sweep you and your vehicle away.
• Pay attention to hazard signs and roadblocks. Ignoring them threatens life and property, and can result in enforcement action by police.

Stuck in a wash: It is possible to lose control of a vehicle in 6 inches of water. Most vehicles will begin to float in 2 feet of water.

• If you have a phone, call 911.
• If you can, climb onto the roof and wait to be rescued.
• If the water is still low and you can wade to safety, do so, but beware of floating debris

Planting Nursery Plants

Continue to plant warm-season annual flowers and vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, and the like) as long as you have enough time for them to beat the summer heat. (However, in hot desert areas, for example, that means no later than late February.) If in doubt, give a quick call to the garden center nearest you.

• If you haven’t already, plant seeds for corn, green beans, melons, squash, cucumbers, okra, sweet potatoes and other heat-lovers.
• Keep up with watering. Even highly drought-tolerant plants can need irrigation. Water large cacti, for example, once a month and agave and yuccas every three weeks.
• Prune winter- and spring-flowering trees and shrubs once they stop blooming.
• Limit pruning of desert legume trees such as palo verde and mesquite, just removing dead or very small limbs as necessary. Heavy pruning, to stimulate new growth which will be stressed by oncoming heat, should wait until later in the summer.

When nighttime, low temperatures in the Valley remain above 60 degrees, the Bermuda grass, which has been dormant all winter, begins to grow. As daytime temperatures exceed 90 degrees, the rye grass will begin to recede. It is during this transition period where both types of grass compete for space and water. The transition from Rye grass to Bermuda grass is a gradual process that lasts from the beginning of April through the end of May. All the grass in the common areas should be primarily Bermuda grass by the beginning of June.

You can expect to see changes in the turf areas throughout the transition period. The irrigation watering times will be monitored closely to encourage the Bermuda grass to grow instead of the Rye. We gradually lower the decks of our mowers from 2” down to 1.25”. Lowering the mower heights does not hurt the Bermuda, but will serve to force the Rye to die off. As the Rye grass dies off, the turf may appear off color or yellow and there may even be some distinct areas that appear dry. This is a temporary condition that improves as the Bermuda grass fills in. In some areas where the Rye grass dies off it forms a thick mat. This is easily removed with a verticutting machine as necessary.

The Bermuda should be actively growing at the beginning of May. At this point the water will be increased and we will apply an appropriate warm weather fertilizer to promote healthy turf.

In Arizona, as in other regions of the world including India and Thailand, we experience a monsoon, a season of high temperatures, high winds, and high moisture, resulting in potentially deadly weather. The term “monsoon” comes from the Arabic “mausim” meaning “season” or “wind shift.”

When Is Arizona’s Monsoon?

Up until 2008 Arizona’s monsoon varied from year to year in starting date and duration. The Arizona monsoon officially began after the third consecutive day of dew points above 55 degrees. On average this occurred around July 7 with the monsoon continuing for the next two months. In 2008 the National Weather Service decided to take the guesswork out of monsoon start and end dates. From now on June 15 will be the first day of the monsoon, and September 30 will be the last day. They did this simply to take the focus off whether or not a storm was considered a monsoon storm or not, and have people be more concerned with safety.

What Happens During Monsoon?

Monsoon storms range from minor dust storms to violent thunderstorms. They can even spawn tornadoes, though that is very rare. Typically, Arizona monsoon storms start with heavy winds sometimes resulting in a visible wall of dust hundreds of feet high moving across the Valley. These dust storms are normally accompanied by frequent thunder and lightning often leading to heavy downpours. Monsoon rains average about 2-1/2″, about 1/3 of our yearly rainfall.

Is there Damage During Monsoon Storms?

Serious damage can occur from high winds, or from debris being tossed by those high winds. It is not unusual for trees to be downed, power lines to be damaged, and roof damage to occur. As you might imagine, homes that are not as sturdy, like some manufactured homes, are more susceptible to wind damage. Power outages for short periods of time are not uncommon.

What About the Roads?

When such high volume rain descends upon the Valley of the Sun, the ground and most especially the surface streets flood. Most roads in the area are not built to drain water quickly since such rain is too rare to justify the extra costs involved in constructing an elaborate drainage system. Quite often the rain pools on streets during and for a few hours after monsoon storms causing dangerous driving conditions. The worst areas for flooding are the many washes in the area, small gullies where heavy rains drained off the land long before roads were built through them. That’s where drivers will normally encounter signs cautioning against crossing the road when flooded. Even if the water rushing across the road looks only an inch or two deep, it may very well be so deep that vehicles, including high clearance trucks, stall and get stuck in the wash. Firefighters and other rescue workers generally have to be called in to rescue motorists stuck in washes before their vehicles are covered by the unexpected deep runoff. Those rescuers are usually accompanied by television news helicopters capturing the rescue on videotape to be broadcast, sometimes live, as a warning to others. That’s only the beginning of the humiliation trapped drivers face. In Arizona, under the so-called “Stupid Motorist Law”, municipalities and rescue agencies can charge people for the cost of being rescued if they fail to observe posted warnings.

Monsoon Grammar

The word “monsoon” refers to a season by definition, and should not really be used with the word “season.” In addition, meteorologists don’t use the plural of the word monsoon. Although there are dictionaries that indicate that the plural of “monsoon” is “monsoons” the following is the proper rule.

On a higher level, I think it is important to report that we enjoy a working relationship with Landmark similar to a partnership. We’ve never had a billing or work issue that wasn’t quickly resolved to everyone’s satisfaction and have never found it necessary to have their contract re-bid.

Mark Rees, VP – Augusta Ranch Master HOA

“I have worked with Landmark Land Management for several years and appreciate their hard work. This is evident on the appearance of the properties for which they maintain for me. It’s the special care and attention Landmark gives to their properties and Managers that keeps us using them for our landscaping needs.”

Lori McAmis – PS Business Parks

A plant growing where you don’t want it to - this is a working definition of a weed. Weed seeds arrive in your yard either by wind or carried in by birds. There are two basic groups of weeds, those that are grasses and those that are broadleaf and they can be classified as annuals or perennials. Annual weeds grow from seeds and grow, flower, produce seed and die within one season. Perennial weeds can live for several years. The control methods you choose will depend on what type of weed you are dealing with.

Articles In This Series

• Weed Control
• Weeds In Gravel Areas
• Weeds In Lawn Areas
• Pre-emergent Weed Control
• A Word Of Weed Caution

Common grass type weeds: crabgrass, Bermuda grass, nutgrass (not really a grass), bromegrass, orchardgrass, common foxtail.

For more information on weeds use the on-line reference University of Arizona - Urban Integrated Pest Management on Weeds and University of Arizona - Urban Integrated Pest Management on Weed Control.