Monsoon Season

 Arizona monsoon season has begun!  I've always loved a good thunderstorm, mom says I was born during a summer thunderstorm in Minnesota - maybe that's where it comes from. 

Monsoons blow into the valley really quick.  They aren't usually long lived.  They start with wind that keeps building, from a breeze to winds measured in miles per hour.  They usually blow into the valley in the afternoon and evening times.  But it's weather, you never really know for sure where and when !!  

Friday into Saturday, the thunder was so loud over my house it shook the walls and woke me up.  I thought I was back in Cali and we were having an earthquake!  Saturday night's storm was mostly wind -- very strong winds  And tonight, 6:30pm, we have winds and thunder and I'm crossing my fingers for more than just sprinkles on my car!

ASU says "a 'Monsoon' is linked more to a wind shift rather than precipitation. In fact, the name "monsoon" is derived from the Arabic word "mausim" which means "season" or "wind-shift".  This wind shift is the result of two meteorological changes:

• The movement northward from winter to summer of the huge upper air subtropical high pressure cells, specifically the so-called Bermuda High (H).
• In addition, the intense heating of the desert creates rising air and surface low pressure (called a thermal low) in the Mohave (L).

These two features combine to create strong southerly flow over Arizona. The southerly winds push moisture north-ward from Mexico. The exact source region for the moisture of the Arizona monsoon is unknown. Researchers have proposed the Gulf of Mexico and/or the Gulf of California as the source regions but conclusive evidence has so far been elusive.

While all that is a little technical, after 12 years in the Valley of the Sun, I have come to appreciate our monsoon season!  Yes, I might complain about the heat, or the humidity, and sometimes the temp, but I still like a good thunderstorm.  Always will!