Monsoon

Yesterday afternoon at our house, we had our first monsoon thunderstorm. It might sound really strange to you Michiganders out there, but we stopped what we were doing and went out on the patio to watch it. A couple months ago, it wasn't a big deal for us to see a downpour. But now that we've been in constant sunshine for 5-plus weeks, a rainstorm is kinda cool to see! (Not that I want them all the time or anything!!)

Just so you know, that's not a photo of our storm above... it's one I found online of an Arizona monsoon thunderstorm. Last week, we went out driving in the evening, watching a storm like this to our north... I felt like we were storm chasers or something!

I remember when Matt's mom was alive, she lived in the city next to our new hometown, and she'd tell us about the monsoon. I just found it so hard to believe that Arizona actually had flash floods... I mean, it's so *dry* in Arizona! When we'd come to visit her here, I saw these huge ditches next to the roads. It seemed impossible that this state could possibly need ditches like that for rain... I mean, what is the annual rainfall here? Something like 10 inches, I think.

I think the reason they need the ditches is that the ground is so dry and hard, and when the rain comes, it comes so fast, there's just no time for it to absorb into the ground. Hence, the flash flooding. They actually have a "stupid motorist" law (that really is what they call it!) here that says if you drive into a flooded part of the road, you may be responsible for paying for the cost of rescuing you from it. It's a big deal here, apparently.

Well, for all of you who are still with me, since I'm not a meterologist, I've found a detailed meterological link explaining the Arizona Monsoon, in case you want to click on it and learn more. :) Yea... just what you always wanted!!! (For those of you who need a less detailed explanation, here's the regular person's page for Arizona monsoon info.

And here are the basics, gleaned from a Google search I just did:

• Correct definition of Monsoon: Any wind that reverses its direction seasonally.
• Wrong definition of Monsoon: Thunderstorms that occur in Arizona during the summer are called monsoons.
• The term "monsoon" comes from the Arabic "mausim" meaning "season" or "wind shift."
• The Arizona monsoon officially begins after the third consecutive day of dew points above 55 degrees.
  
• On average this occurs around July 7 with the monsoon continuing for the next two months resulting in about 2-1/2" of rain, about 1/3 of our yearly rainfall.

Okay, that's enough Arizona weather trivia for now! I hope you found it entertaining and educational. :)