The series of images making up the historical image gallery typically consists of:

• Image spectrum consisting of a series of Excellent to Very Poor regional haze conditions, corresponding to deciview increments of the Visibility Index scale.

• Seasonal images representative of pristine, scenic, or meteorological interest.

• Unique representations of layered haze, regional haze, or pollution episodes of significant importance.

The South Mountain image gallery was last updated in May 2004. Check this page again for future updates.

Image Spectrum:
The following images have been selected to represent regional haze conditions corresponding to the Excellent to Very Poor categories of the Visibility Index Scale.

A clean December day with excellent visibility throughout the Phoenix monitoring region.

Typical good visibility day in March with a slight milky appearance of regional haze over the South Mountain monitoring vista.

Typical fair visibility day in February with a moderate appearance of regional haze over the South Mountain monitoring vista.

Poor visibility day with significant enough regional haze throughout the South Mountain monitoring vista that the South Mountain ridgeline is no longer visible, February.

Very Poor visibility day in October with significant regional haze throughout the South Mountain monitoring vista. Note the South Mountain ridgeline and much of the downtown area is no longer visible.

Seasonal Images
The following images are representative of pristine, scenic, or meteorological observances of interest.

Pristine

Scenic

Example of excellent visibility representative of the South Mountain monitoring vista. This image was taken at 8:30 a.m. on December 16, 2003.

Example of a typical evening skyline for the South Mountain monitoring vista. This image was taken at 6:00 p.m. on December 16, 2003.

Scenic

Example of a typical morning sunrise for the South Mountain monitoring vista. This image was taken at 7:00 a.m. on December 20, 2003.

Unique South Mountain Gallery Images:
The following images are representative of observed layered haze, regional haze, or pollution episodes of significant importance.

Layered Haze

Layered Haze

October 11, 2003, 7:45 a.m.

November 10, 2003, 2:00 p.m.

Representative ground-based layered haze impacting the Phoenix metro region, as seen from the South Mountain monitoring vista, viewing 183° south.

Representative ground-based layered haze impacting the Phoenix metro region, as seen from the South Mountain monitoring vista.

Layered Haze

Layered Haze

November 13, 2003, 9:30 a.m.

November 15, 2003, 7:30 a.m.

Representative ground-based layered haze impacting the Phoenix metro region, as seen from the South Mountain monitoring vista.

Representative ground-based layered haze impacting the Phoenix metro region, as seen from the South Mountain monitoring vista.

Layered Haze

Layered Haze

December 24, 2003, 9:45 a.m.

December 28, 2003, 9:15 a.m.

Representative ground-based layered haze impacting the Phoenix metro region, as seen from the South Mountain monitoring vista.

Representative ground-based layered haze impacting the Phoenix metro region, as seen from the South Mountain monitoring vista.

Layered Haze

Layered Haze

January 29, 2004, 9:15 a.m.

March 7, 2004, 7:30 a.m.

Representative ground-based layered haze impacting the Phoenix metro region, as seen from the South Mountain monitoring vista.

Representative ground-based layered haze impacting the Phoenix metro region, as seen from the South Mountain monitoring vista.

Regional Haze

December 21, 2003

10:30 a.m.

12:15 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

Representative regional haze event that impacted visibility, as seen from the South Mountain monitoring vista viewing 183° south, on December 21, 2003.

March 7, 2004

6:30 a.m.

7:00 a.m.

7:30 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

8:30 a.m.

9:00 a.m.

9:30 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

10:30 a.m.

11:00 a.m.

11:30 a.m.

A regional haze event occurred during the morning of March 7, 2004 that could be observed from several Phoenix visibility Web cameras. Thirty-minute interval images depicting visibility as seen from the South Mountain monitoring vista are shown above.

Pollution Episode

Dust Storm Event: May 16 through May 24, 2003

May 20, 2003
9:15 a.m.

May 21, 2003
9:15 a.m.

May 22, 2003
9:15 a.m.

May 23, 2003
9:15 a.m.

May 24, 2003
9:15 a.m.

Strong sustained winds produced significant amounts of blowing dust in April and May of 2003. The following views from the South Mountain Web camera depict fair to poor visibility conditions during the May 20 through 24, 2003 period.

Pollution Episode

Blue River Complex Fire: July 13, 2003 through August 10, 2003

August 5, 2003
7:00 a.m.

August 6, 2003
8:00 a.m.

August 6, 2003
9:00 a.m.

August 6, 2003
10:00 a.m.

August 8, 2003
6:00 p.m.

August 9, 2003
4:00 p.m.

August 10, 2003
8:00 a.m.

The 18,575-acre Blue River Complex fire included two lightning-caused fires and a blaze contained in June. The fire was located over 200 miles east of Phoenix and approximately 18 miles south of Alpine, Arizona. Smoke and reduced visibility that was observed from the South Mountain Web camera during the containment phase of the fire is depicted above.

Pollution Episode

Southern California Wildfire Impacts: October 26 through November 9, 2003
In October of 2003, Southern California experienced the most devastating wildland fire disaster in state history. Over 750,000 acres burned. Smoke from the wildfires caused unhealthy levels of particulate pollution in a large expanse of Southern California and the Southwestern United States. Visibility in the Phoenix region was noticeably impacted from October 26 through November 9, 2003.

Below are selected 10:00 a.m. images depicting visibility conditions observed from the South Mountain Web camera from October 27 through November 8, 2003.

October 27, 2003
10:00 a.m.

October 28, 2003
10:00 a.m.

October 29, 2003
10:00 a.m.

October 30, 2003
10:00 a.m.

October 31, 2003
10:00 a.m.

November 5, 2003, 10:00 a.m.

November 6, 2003, 10:00 a.m.

November 7, 2003, 10:00 a.m.

November 8, 2003
10:00 a.m.

Hourly daylight images depicting visibility conditions observed on November 6, 2003 from the South Mountain Web camera are shown below.

November 6, 2003

8:00 a.m.

9:00 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

11:00 a.m.

12:00 p.m.

1:00 pm.

2:00 pm.

3:00 pm.

4:00 pm.