an incredible monsoon sky (8/28)

From my balcony (facing west) at dusk, 3 things were happening in the wide open sky at once... straight ahead in the center, due west, is a full ball of sun sitting just above the horizon, lying below a distinct horizontal line of grey clouds with rain showers streaking through the bright red sunset colors. To the north is blue sky and white puffy clouds rising above the mountains; and to the south is dark clouds producing a line of rain with vivid lightening that spread across the sky from top to bottom with a constant roll of thunder to fill my ears. There is a pleasant cool desert wind. It is beautiful to see monsoon from my chair on the balcony.

August 25th

Monsoon is here in Tucson. As the high summer temperatures build during the afternoon, you can watch the huge white puffy clouds rise up vertically in the sky over the Rincon Mountains to the east, and you know it is coming. That's the definition of Monsoon: a reverse in wind direction. Typically we get weather from the west, but in Monsoon it comes from the southeast (the gulf of Mexico). If it makes it over the mountains, it arrives with a jolt of energy: lightening, thunder, severe down pours and sometimes hail (like yesterday). The rivers flow and the washes fill up with water. The roads can be impassable. It is fierce, like a New England blizzard snow storm in winter. Yet it thankfully nourishes the dry desert landscape and drops the temperature by at least 20 degrees. The mountains are noticeably greener these days. That's why people here love the Monsoon. I get it.