Monsoon

Monsoon Clouds

Wow, it is already August! July flew by. Monsoon finally started around the second week. It seemed to take forever, but once it started, we got nice amounts of rain. Everything is very green and the fires are out. Unfortunately, Mayer has been getting some flooding due to heavy rains on the burn scar of the Goodwin fire. It hasn’t affected our neighborhood, but I feel for the folks right near the Bug Bug Creek.

Right now we are getting a dry break for a few days. It went down in the low 60s last night, so this morning was pleasant. I was going to open the windows, but Mister need to weed whip so I left them shut. I got out and did a bit of weed pulling myself. The place is crazy with weeds due to all the rain, so I feel like I barely made a dent.

Monsoon should be reappearing later in the week. For now, I am enjoying the drier air. Today’s high was about 92, which is hot but tolerable. The cucumbers and beans are beginning to bloom, so we will see what comes of that!

Monsoon Still Here

Even though summer is not over, there is a hint of fall in the air. We were able to leave the windows open all night on Friday (9/4) for the first time since early June. By Sat. the humidity was back and we had to run AC all night, but it was nice to even get one night AC free!

There is a lot of Monsoon moisture in the air, which makes things icky. It sure produces some pretty clouds, though not much rain lately.

*Update: A few hours after I published this today, some rain finally moved in! It rained on and off all afternoon and the temp. dropped to 69 degrees. The windows are open and I am smiling. Happy Labor Day!

More Monsoon Action!

The storms have missed us a lot the past several weeks. We seem to be in a spot where they blow by on either side, but often leave us dry. Today was an exception. Nice downpour this morning, finally! I went out to see if the Big Bug was running and sure enough, it was! The storm also dropped our temps by 15 degrees, although it is still very sticky out there.

It was still raining when I went out, so the picture was taken from inside my car. So nice to see the Big Bug get some action again.

One more:

Happy Independence Day!

And a big thank-you to all who serve this country!

We missed all the rain yesterday, but monsoon just made up for it with a big downpour. Along with the rain came crazy lightning and thunder. After a particularly bright strike and loud crack of thunder, our power went out. Thankfully it came back after about 45 min.

We are sure the rain came because Mr. LOTBB put food out on the grill! 🙂  The pic. below is from yesterday, when we got only a few sprinkles. It is still raining here now. Yippee!!

And So It Begins

We got our first Monsoon 2015 rainstorm this morning. It woke us up in the wee hours about 1:30 am. It was pretty decent too, with nice rain, lightning, thunder and thankfully, no hail or other damage. I thought the storms had passed us by earlier in the evening, so this was a pleasant surprise!

I love monsoon season in Arizona! It is the best when we get rain but often, like late yesterday afternoon, even though the rain passed us by the clouds came along with the wind and cooled things off about 20 degrees. It was lovely to be able to get out of the 24/7 AC for a while and sit out on our deck, enjoying the breezes and cloudy sky.

Historic Rain Day

I’m writing this a week after the “Great Phoenix Flood” of September 8, 2014. We got rain in Big Bug country, but not as much as they did down in the valley. I had just set out for work at 6 am on Monday, when my boss called and told me how bad things were down there. I ended up staying home that day and watching the news in amazement. It was an incredible storm and unfortunately, many people had flood damage. Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun always need rain, but getting 2-5+ inches in one day was crazy. The storm set records for being the most rain received in one calendar day.

What happened? From what I understand, moisture from Hurricane Norbert combined with monsoon moisture to create this deluge. This week, another hurricane has developed. We are looking at Hurricane Odile, now a category 4, just off the Baja California Peninsula. I don’t know if Odile will push as much moisture as her big brother, but we will see. Right now, they are forecasting the most rain for Wednesday and Thursday.

As for the Big Bug, we did get rain last Monday, but “only” around an inch. Actually, Sunday I was heard saying that the storm was a “dud” and “where is all the rain”? It started around 3 am. The Big Bug was still flowing when I had a chance to take a few pictures.

A pretty sunset ended the crazy, historic day.

Monsoon Finishing Strong

We have been able to open windows at night for the past few days. This may sound like no big deal, but after the normal AZ summer of 24/7 air conditioning, it is a major event. The Monsoon is winding down and I am glad. I love Monsoon when it comes in, but by Sept. I am ready for it to go away! I am looking forward to being able to put stuff in the greenhouse, but for now, I am enjoying the nights with open windows and no fake air.