OT - "and the rains came"

[KnightBridgeAZ]

No - not a hurricane.

The monsoon season has arrived in Tucson (and the rest of Arizona). After 100 degree weather day in and day out the forecast for the next 10 days peaks in the 90's with a chance of rain every day, generally in what they are calling scattered or isolated thunderstorms.

It may not add up to much by east coast standards, but everyone I met is delighted - with the drought on top of typical low rainfall, even the saguaros are looking thirsty.

 

[ChicagoGG]

It's actually been kind of droughtish out here in CT, too. June was 9th driest on record. Last year we had 11 inches of rain in June, in our town this year only 1.3 inches. Average is just under 4 inches, I believe. Kind of glad to see the rain here as well, although it has postponed many a fireworks show....

 

[tomcat]

Two hours north of KnightBridgeAZ, in Tempe (just outside Phoenix) we had our first dust storm of the season, with driving winds peaking at what I would estimate to be 60 mph. Today there are heavy clouds, and we're hopeful here for a productive monsoon season. The last couple of years have not been terrific, with little rain to show for them. Sometimes the air has been so hot that ran falling from high up evaporates before it can reach the ground.

That said, it is maybe 10 degrees hotter here than in Tucson, and that extra 10 degrees can make a huge difference in how uncomfortable it feels when there is, say, 30% humidity added in.

 

[Sonny44]

It's actually been kind of droughtish out here in CT, too. June was 9th driest on record. Last year we had 11 inches of rain in June, in our town this year only 1.3 inches. Average is just under 4 inches, I believe. Kind of glad to see the rain here as well, although it has postponed many a fireworks show....

Praise God, I just got the garden mulched and the rains came, much needed as you say!