Arizona’s Amazing Monsoon

July has arrived and southern Arizonans wait in anticipation for the annual Monsoon. If you haven’t had the opportunity to experience it yet, you’re in for a treat. If you’ve lived through at least one, you’ll understand what I mean.

It’s a magical time of year. The weather stabilizes in April followed by almost three months of clear, blue skies. The temperature rises during these months until, around the 4th of July, you’re convinced that you’re living in an oven.

Then it begins. At first, you see afternoon clouds. They’re puffy and white. They don’t produce any rain yet they provide welcome shade if only for a few minutes. In a couple weeks the clouds start showing up in their dark gray suits. It’s easy to think it’ll rain but it doesn’t. If you look real closely you’ll see that rain is coming from some of the clouds, it’s just evaporating before it hits the ground.

I’m not a meteorologist but I enjoy listening to our local weather forecasters as they describe the technical aspects of the Monsoon. Based on the calendar, we enter the Monsoon on June 15th. Based on Dew Point, the Monsoon begins when the dew point rises to 54° and remains at least that high for three consecutive days. Regardless of the date or the dew point, you can begin to feel the humidity in the air and you just know that the Monsoon rains are not far behind.

The best way for me to describe the Monsoon is to say “It’s the most wicked thunderstorm I’ve ever experienced”. The sky turns very dark. It’s different than the greenish darkness you’ll find in tornado alley. The Monsoon skies are dark, dark gray. When this happens, the birds make their last dash for cover as the outside world becomes very still.

Then the thunder arrives with vengeance. It builds in the distance, getting louder and louder as it rolls across the land. It’s often so powerful that it rattles the windows in the house. You can feel the thunder as it gets closer and closer.

Along with the sound of thunder is the lightshow created by the Monsoon. Do you like lightning? I hope so because you’ll be absolutely amazed at what you see. Lightning dances across the sky, bolts upward from the ground, and lights up your home like a strobe light. It’s not uncommon to lose power during a Monsoon storm. This just makes the experience more dramatic as your darkened home turns bright as day when lightning strikes close by. What a beautiful contrast between moments when your world goes from darkness to brightness and back to darkness so quickly.

The wind is the force that pushes the Monsoon storm through the area. It helps you smell the rain long before it arrives. What a refreshing scent after months of ever-increasing heat. You soon learn to enjoy the scent briefly because the dangerous lightning and drenching rains come quickly.

Rain falls hard during a Monsoon storm. It’s as if the clouds build-up with water and don’t let go until they can’t hold it any longer. Monsoon rain often begins with a gusher rather than a few drops. It’s as if you get two days of rain in one hour. The wind blows very hard as the storm passes through. It sends the rain sideways making umbrellas useless. You can expect your covered windows to be dirty from top to bottom.

Monsoon storms rarely last more than an hour, often times they barely last thirty minutes. When the thunder, lightning, and rain move off in the distance, it’s natural to want to go outside. The first thing you notice is that the temperature has dropped dramatically. The air is almost cool. You look in the wash and there’s actually water flowing through it, a sight that’s rarely seen. It’s easy to identify the low spots in your yard, something you’ll want to take care of later.

And then there’s the scent of the desert. The rain settles the dust and washes the plants and trees. It leaves behind a woodsy scent that’s difficult to describe. It’s sweet yet musky and very unique. You’ll only sense it after the rain and you’ll find yourself yearning for it the rest of the year.

The Monsoon storm leaves you with an evening that’s cool and somewhat humid. The air is fresh and the desert is moist. You’ll want to sit outside and recount the stories of Monsoons past and compare with the experiences of the day. What will tomorrow bring? Probably another storm and the chance to live it all over again. The Monsoon is truly a magical time in southern Arizona. It passes quickly yet gives us such a different world for ten short weeks each summer. I hope you have the opportunity to be in an Arizona Monsoon at least once in your life. It’s an experience you’ll never forget.