Storm Last Night

[simoh1490]

Mae Rim saw several inches of rain and super high winds last night that brought down trees around us, that should keep the burning under control for a few days. Anyone else get wet?

[cmsally]

A few very light drips around 10pm and no wind at all in town.

[Sparkles]

South of town  ,we live in Mae Hia /Hang Dong area ,zero.Quite normal at this time of the year,patience is a virtue

[EricTh]

There was a short rain (about 10 mins) in Sansai last night.

 

A much needed relief from the hot weather.

[CMKiwi]

Oh that one in Mae Rim was a little ripper.  Pity it knocked a few of the mangoes off the trees but it gave the ground a good soaking.

 

Had to get outta bed and close some of the shutters.  Rain was nearly horizontal coming in through the mesh fly screens.

 

 Damn cold too, I didn't muck about as I was only in boxers. Cats and dog disappeared under the house.

 

Hope we get a bit more rain. Good to see some water in the klong at the front of the house too.

[simoh1490]

Phew, I'm glad somebody else saw it, I was beginning to think it was just in my garden only.

[EricTh]

9 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

Phew, I'm glad somebody else saw it, I was beginning to think it was just in my garden only.

I wish we have more rainy days during this hot season. March and April are the hottest months and the heat is unbearable.

 

I don't want to wait for the rainy season to come. Does it come in June or July in CM? 

 

All my grass are dying because I am just too lazy to water them everyday,

[simoh1490]

Songkran marks the traditional start of the rainy season, about three/four more weeks, maybe.

[Dante99]

45 minutes ago, EricTh said:

I wish we have more rainy days during this hot season. March and April are the hottest months and the heat is unbearable.

 

I don't want to wait for the rainy season to come. Does it come in June or July in CM? 

 

All my grass are dying because I am just too lazy to water them everyday,

Let the grass die then you can have bare dirt which will increase the heat and dust, but enjoy being lazy.

[XGM]

1 hour ago, EricTh said:

 

All my grass are dying because I am just too lazy to water them everyday,

Sprinklers will make your life so much better. 300 baht and your grass will thank you.

[XGM]

Amount of rain in April is a matter of luck. You can count on May.

[owl sees all]

8 minutes ago, XGM said:

Amount of rain in April is a matter of luck. You can count on May.

Yes!! Any rain during the pre-wet-season is a matter of chance. Although some areas get it quite often while others don't. Hills maybe!?

[simoh1490]

5 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Yes!! Any rain during the pre-wet-season is a matter of chance. Although some areas get it quite often while others don't. Hills maybe!?

It's not chance! Attached is a link that shows details of all the reservoirs in Thailand. Click on any reservoir name in the North and see the graph showing the rate at which water entered the dams in previous years. Note that water levels begin to rise around 17 May (e.g. Mae Ngud Reservoir at Mae Tang). BUT, it takes four to six weeks of rain before that date for the ground to become saturated and for runoff to occur, before water enters the dams, ergo, in previous years rain consistently begins in the North around mid April.http://www.thaiwater.net/DATA/REPORT/php/rid_dam_1.php?lang=en

[XGM]

8 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

 ergo, in previous years rain consistently begins in the North around mid April.

Isn't it more accurate to directly look at monthly precipitation data rather than try to deduce rainfall from dam water levels and degree of ground saturation..?

 

http://www.chiang-mai.climatemps.com/precipitation.php

https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainy-days,Chiang-Mai,Thailand

 

Average 5 rainy days in April hardly qualifies it as a wet month. In some years you may get 7 rainy days at the second half of April, in others you'll get 3. It's an average. It also depends on what you call "beginning of rains". We already had 2-3 rainy days this month. Does it mean the rainy season has already begun?

[simoh1490]

1 minute ago, XGM said:

Isn't it more accurate to directly look at monthly precipitation data rather than try to deduce rainfall from dam water levels and degree of ground saturation..?

 

http://www.chiang-mai.climatemps.com/precipitation.php

https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainy-days,Chiang-Mai,Thailand

 

Average 5 rainy days in April hardly qualifies as wet month. It might be, it might not be. It's an average. It also depends on what you call "beginning of rains". We already had 2-3 rainy days this month. Does it mean the rainy season has already begun?

 

Chiang Mai is a very big province so looking at monthly precipitation tables for the entire province is probably not too useful. The reservoirs/dams are spread around the Province but typically in mountainous areas. So whilst the tables may show only five days of rainfall and your home Amphur may well have been dry for that entire period, it's likely the reservoirs registered some water collection which is indeed the case.

 

I define the beginning of the rainy season as when it first starts to rain. Historically, the period through April is bone dry so when there's one day of rain, others will almost certainly follow, as your five day charts confirm.

[XGM]

3 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

 

I define the beginning of the rainy season as when it first starts to rain. Historically, the period through April is bone dry so when there's one day of rain, others will almost certainly follow, as your five day charts confirm.

Again, we already had 2-3 days of rain this month. So by your definition we are at the rainy season. I don't know how that helps EricTh's grass situation though.

 

Second question is how do you determine 4-6 weeks for ground saturation? Perhaps it is 2-3 weeks?

[simoh1490]

52 minutes ago, XGM said:

Again, we already had 2-3 days of rain this month. So by your definition we are at the rainy season. I don't know how that helps EricTh's grass situation though.

 

Second question is how do you determine 4-6 weeks for ground saturation? Perhaps it is 2-3 weeks?

Where I live, in Mae Rim, we've had one day of rain only, the forecast says there's another storm due in a few days and we're only at the end of March. Chances are that by end of April we'll be in the rainy season which is what I suggested at the outset.

 

4-6 weeks is a finger in the air guess based on the above and from looking at the graphs in the link I provided. The link shows the water levels starting to increase around 17 May so that fits with rain beginning around mid April. Maybe it is 2/3 weeks as you suggest, it depends I suppose on the amount of rain. And I'm not trying to make a career out of this subject, I'm merely refuting the notion that rain in April is not always certain, I believe it's almost guaranteed and history supports that.

[simoh1490]

20 hours ago, XGM said:

Again, we already had 2-3 days of rain this month. So by your definition we are at the rainy season. I don't know how that helps EricTh's grass situation though.

 

Second question is how do you determine 4-6 weeks for ground saturation? Perhaps it is 2-3 weeks?

I forgot to add the most obvious and assured way to determine if the rainy season has begun and that is by the wind direction. The rainy season is known as the South West monsoon, which means the wind direction changes from the NE to the SW, that's what brings the rain and it's an extremely reliable indicator. If you look currently at the wind maps you'll see that rain is forecast in CM province over the next 15 days and that in every instance the wind direction is from the SW.

[EricTh]

10 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

Iprovince over the next 15 days and that in every instance the wind direction is from the SW.

 

If this is true, that'll be great.

 

In fact, there'll be thunderstorms during the next two days . My grass may finally not die.

LOL

[simoh1490]

4 minutes ago, EricTh said:

 

If this is true, that'll be great.

 

In fact, there'll be thunderstorms during the next two days . My grass may finally not die.

LOL

Grass in Thailand doesn't die, it goes away and sleeps but it always comes back, always.

[EricTh]

2 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

Grass in Thailand doesn't die, it goes away and sleeps but it always comes back, always.

 

Then why is it that I have patches of dried brown grass that don't respond to any watering even after many days.

[XGM]

A decent rain in Sansai now. Looking at the forecast, we can expect 3 more wet days next week. Eric, forget about the sprinklers. Rainy season is here ;-)

[simoh1490]

6 hours ago, EricTh said:

 

Then why is it that I have patches of dried brown grass that don't respond to any watering even after many days.

What kind of grass are you growing, farang grass or malay? And is the ground, rice paddy (sandy soil).

[roo860]

A few very light drips around 10pm and no wind at all in town.

Is this about the weather or a medical problem you suffer from?
[emoji2]

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[EricTh]

8 hours ago, XGM said:

A decent rain in Sansai now. Looking at the forecast, we can expect 3 more wet days next week. Eric, forget about the sprinklers. Rainy season is here ;-)

 

I hope so. I heard some rain noise when I was sleeping last night.  Maybe it's just a drizzle.

[EricTh]

4 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

What kind of grass are you growing, farang grass or malay? And is the ground, rice paddy (sandy soil).

It's the kind of short grass that the house developer put into every house with a garden in a mooban. It's quite common in Thailand. 

 

The developer bought these square patches of green grass and laid it on those dark soil that was poured on dry normal soil.

 

I've seen it sold in Kham Tieng flower market but it's not durable ie. it dies easily. Maybe I should replace with better more durable grass that can withstand dry seasons.

 

[simoh1490]

3 minutes ago, EricTh said:

It's the kind of short grass that the house developer put into every house with a garden in a mooban. It's quite common in Thailand. 

 

The developer bought these square patches of green grass and laid it on those dark soil that was poured on dry soil.

 

I've seen it sold in Kham Tieng flower market but it's not durable ie. it dies easily. Maybe I should replace with better more durable grass that can stand dry seasons.

 

If each blade is a single strand of grass that grows upwards, the sort of grass you typically find in the UK, that's probably farang grass. Malay grass on the other hand grows laterally, it sends out shoots which root and then the new root sends out further shoots. It's ideal for poor quality ground since it's hardy beyond belief - in the dry season, it only takes about 10 mins of watering per day to keep it looking really nice, if you stop watering it will shrink back to the roots but then will come alive again very quickly when the rains come. Malay doesn't really like strong direct sunlight but if that's what it gets you just need to cut it longer and water it more often. About 24 baht a square metre at Kham Tieng Market, do it soon and let the wet season take care of it..

[EricTh]

1 hour ago, simoh1490 said:

If each blade is a single strand of grass that grows upwards, the sort of grass you typically find in the UK, that's probably farang grass. Malay grass on the other hand grows laterally, it sends out shoots which root and then the new root sends out further shoots. It's ideal for poor quality ground since it's hardy beyond belief - in the dry season, it only takes about 10 mins of watering per day to keep it looking really nice, if you stop watering it will shrink back to the roots but then will come alive again very quickly when the rains come. Malay doesn't really like strong direct sunlight but if that's what it gets you just need to cut it longer and water it more often. About 24 baht a square metre at Kham Tieng Market, do it soon and let the wet season take care of it..

 

I think it grows upwards but not very long. So I think it is farang grass. Some patches are growing well while other patches are brownish, I don't know what's the cause. Do these grasses ever have seeds?

 

How do I say Malay grass in Thai? 

 

[simoh1490]

5 minutes ago, EricTh said:

 

I think it grows upwards but not very long. So I think it is farang grass. Some patches are growing well while other patches are brownish, I don't know what's the cause. Do these grasses ever have seeds?

 

How do I say Malay grass in Thai? 

 

Seeds are very very hard to find, usually turf squares of about 1.0 x0.5 metres.

 

Everyone knows Malay grass as malay.

[Sparkles]

Fertiliser helps as the soil here is lacking in nutrients especially if your place is built on fill.In my commercial nursery back in Oz chook poo in pellet form was my choice as high in nitrogen.You will get very little growth until the rain comes its basically aholding period

 

You could also a use liquid fertiliser, mixed with water, and applied with a large watering can.

 

A large 30 kg bag of chook poo in pellet form costs around 300 baht and I apply to lawn and plants when the rains come,not before.

 

1 bag does 12 mths but quite a small garden.

 

Thunderstorms are forecast for today and tomorrow. nothing like natural water falling from the sky for growth