we are having a monsoon

[thepowderblue]

[thepowderblue]

You cant see but click the big black empty space

[Tnwagn]

Probably due to those pipes the construction workers were putting in your neighborhood earlier.

[Night Wolf]

now you get a taste of what we go through here often in FL

[Accrdwgnguy]

ohs nos rain!

You sir, fail at your attempts to troll

[owequitit]

Nothing really new or surprising for AZ. Should be here for the next few months. It isn't even fully developed yet.

It will get a lot more fun when shit starts flooding and washing away.

[turboAccordHSF]

Ok I'm sooo confused on what the winnie the poo is a monsoon?

[thepowderblue]

Now where is the rain?

[Losiracer2]

It was just a REALLY big dust storm. No rain here, maybe in other parts like near Sky Harbor Airport but not in Chandler

[owequitit]

Ok I'm sooo confused on what the winnie the poo is a monsoon?

Monsoon is a season of thunderstorms specifically defined by strong southerly airflow.

It is the primary source of moisture in the SW US, and essentially, the southerly airflow brings warm, moist air off the Gulfs of Mexico and California, and when mixed with the other drier air in the region, and the intense convection caused by the intense summer heat, results in strong lifting forces. Since warm, moist air and strong lifting equal thunderstorms, we get them. They pretty much occur daily for most of the last half of the summer and sometimes into late September, depending on the year.

They will occur slightly earlier in the day in the higher elevation/colder regions, and later and more violently in the evenings, since there is more latent heat available to fuel them and stonger lifting mechanisms. Typically, in my region we get them about 2-3pm and the lower, hotter deserts get them around the time the sun goes down. The desert storms are later, but they are much stronger, and much more violent. These storms bring lots of flash flooding, high winds, dust and sandstorms and can be extremely violent. Sometimes if the conditions are right, we can get supercells (strongest type of thunderstorm), squall lines (long line of T-storms) or Mesoscale Convective complexes (a large ring of T-storms that keep regenerating). These storms are responsible for many of the large dry washes in the area, and some of the other geographical features. They are very breathtaking and awe inspriring and make some of the most beautiful lightening storms you will ever see, due to the high heat of the air that causes them. Unfortunately, they can also be very deadly if not respected due to the rapid, and severe flash flooding. Fields, washes and roads will literally go from bone dry to being under several feet of water in a matter of minutes. Also, since it is mountainous, once that water gets moving, it can do some serious damage as a result of velocity.

Often, people will assume that summer thunderstorms are all monsoons, but technically, if they airflow isn't from the south, they are not actually monsoons. The winds swung around late last week, and by this weekend, we were getting pretty widespread towering cumulus buildup (the stuff that eventually becomes T-storms), and then it started raining about 3 days ago. Usually, you can just about set your watch by them, as they often arrive within ~30 minutes of the same time everyday.

Luckily, we don't get too many supercells or tornados out of them due largely to our terrain features, which make it harder for them to get that severe like in the Midwest. Although, some of our larger ones in the lower deserts are really close.

We haven't really had a healthy monsoon in AZ for nearly 10 years. Hopefully, this year will be different. Our forests need the water. When I was younger it was very regular and predictable, although it does vary based on either El Nino or La Nina.

[thepowderblue]

losiracer lives like 1/4 of a mile away from me.
This one lasted a long time. I was waiting for it to rain.

[thepowderblue]

It messed up the porch roof I will take pix in the morning.

[thepowderblue]

Where is all of the dirt coming from!
Normally the rain washes it away.
I opened the garage up and this is what I see







lx




My SE



A few rain drops


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[thepowderblue]

Ohwell I got on the roof and this is the carnage








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[Leung]

that's something i've never seen before.

could you imagine if there was a sand storm strong enough that it could basically sand blast your car paint off?