The Summer Monsoon

If you’re not familiar with the Southwest, we have two distinct summer seasons here. Before July conditions are very dry with low humidity and infrequent rain. Temperatures get to the highest of the year in late June but still drop into the 60’s at night. Around the first of July there is a seasonal change in the wind direction known as the monsoon. This results in higher humidity (but still dry by most standards), somewhat lower daytime temperatures, and much more frequent rain and thundershowers. A rain event can drop the temperature by 20 degrees! Here’s a frequent sight near sunset during the monsoon: