Sunshine and Palm Trees

Photo by Vicki Leigh Bell

Doesn't this look like a huge boll of cotton?  Scottsdale has plenty of sunshine, blue skies, palm trees and about one hundred 100 degree days.  Monsoon season usually lasts for 3 months from July to September, and brings the majority of the rainfall for the year to the desert.   As the jet stream heads North for the summer, the Arizona weather fronts usually come up from the Gulf of Mexico with dense, wet air meeting with the hot, dry desert air, creating cumulonimbus clouds and the possibility of a thunderstorm.  Often the winds pick up dust, which could create a severe dust storm known as an haboob. Three days of a dew point above 55 signifies the beginning of the season, but authorities changed the date to a standard of June 15th so that people would take the thunderstorms seriously.  Lightning kills 125 people a year, with 500 serious injuries.  For example, it is not a good time to swing a golf club.  In Arizona, loud horns sound to warn golfers to stop playing, and with luck they do.  The next three months will bring exciting weather events to Scottsdale.  We love the rain.