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Southwestern U.S. Painted Lady Migration - Enormous and Extensive!

March 12, 2019

The ongoing Painted Lady migration is well underway, after a seeming delay in some areas due to cool weather.  Large numbers were passing through Palm Springs, California on and before March 2, 2019, and some of these butterflies were observed flying westward.  They also became abundant in the Las Vegas area around March 4, and continue to be present there in large numbers.  Most recently, an enormous swarm has been flying northward through the Los Angeles area, both yesterday and today, March 12.  Painted Ladies are now widespread throughout southern California, includi

Atmospheric River Impacting California

January 28, 2021

This event has the potential to trigger a bloom of desert annuals in the southwestern United States, perhaps followed by an outbreak of Painted Ladies by early March.  This depends on whether enough of the heavy rainfall predicted for the coastal regions of southern California on Friday, January 29 crosses the San Jacinto Mountains to substantially water the deserts to the east.

From the U.S. National Weather Service on January 28: