Monsoon Meltdown; Arizona Silly Season: The Monsoon Buildup.

People in most of the country think Arizona has no seasons. I once had that idea myself, until I lived for a year in Tucson. In Southern Arizona, there are two major seasons: the wet, and the dry. The wet is divided into two parts, what others call winter, and summer. The dry is also divided into two parts, corresponding to spring and autumn in the rest of the country. That's the simple explanation, but like most simple explanations, omits the interesting stuff:

Right now, June, we are in what the Australians in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, call the buildup. It is also called the silly season, the murder season -- you get the idea, it drives people nuts. It is the hottest part of the year, and the humidity rises to uncomfortable levels. The Arizona buildup is nothing compared to say, Darwin, where 110f + temperatures somehow manage to hold 80% humidity. In Tucson we think it is unbearable when the humidity hits 35%, no matter what the temperature. In Phoenix, they get much higher humidity, and temps, because they like to have large lawns they water daily; Karma if you ask me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: monsoon, Tucson, Arizona, Silly Season, Monsoon Meltdown, desert, summer, Australia weather, Karma, Phoenix

As June comes to an end, we can begin to sense the monsoon rains inching closer, and that knowledge produces an interesting mix of physical misery and spiritual hope that is positively intoxicating. We check the Doppler radar on Yahoo Weather constantly: is that blotch of red, ringed with yellow and green, bending in our direction? Dare we hope the monsoon will begin today?

Soon, one 100 + day will, imperceptibly at first, begin to show cute little summer puffy clouds, the ones much of the country gets at some time during the summer. But, surrounding these innocent looking clouds, miles up in the deep blue desert sky, hide huge quantities of moisture. As the afternoon wears on, and the desert floor pumps blistering heat up into the mix, those cute clouds begin to morph, slowly at first, then more rapidly into unbelievably tall white clouds with inky blue/black bottoms, impossibly convoluted, beautiful and powerful. Therein hides lightning not to be believed, thunder to rattle buildings and the nerves of living things, and followed by downpours of Genesis 5 proportions (well, maybe not quite that outrageous).

Will this be the day?

Stay tuned.