Home InSIGHT - Karen Warren's Blog

As I sit here typing on my computer, the sky is darkening to the east.  The cicada's are droning away outside in the July heat, and I am hopeful of an impending downpour.  It's monsoon season in Arizona.

I love monsoon season despite the potentially damaging storms that can occur.  I suppose it's because our weather here in the desert is usually so constant.....and sunny!  The monsoon season typically begins in July and lasts well into September.  Meteorologists also measure the beginning of the monsoon season as 3 consecutive days of the dew point being 55 degrees or higher. The name "monsoon" comes from the Arabic word "mausim" which means "season" or "wind shift".  This wind shift pulls moisture up from the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean and delivers much needed rain to the southern portion of Arizona.  Dust storms and brilliant displays of lightening are also typical of our monsoon season.  A good monsoon storm has been known to toss my patio furniture into the pool, and one year uprooted a fig tree in my backyard (I hated that tree!).  It can also bring about a drop in our summer temperatures, if only for a day or two.