Desert Monsoons
Oh I love these “gushers” we get sometimes in the summer! The beautiful clouds move in from the south or west and all of a sudden there is a loud crack of thunder and the clouds spill over and wash away the red dirt and leave everything sparkling and beautiful. And the smell … the smell is something I wish you could buy in a bottle and spray it around on a dusty, hot desert day. From what the man tells me we are in for a few weeks of “Desert Monsoon” storms down here. Nothing seems to do as much for the spirits here in Southern Utah as a gully washer on a hot day. The minute it started my grandkids were out the door screaming and laughing to join the other children from up and down the block … now why did I not take a pictures of them instead of just standing in the doorway watching? (The above picture is actually an Arizona Monsoon.)
Remember the Salt Lake City Tornado on Aug. 11, 1999? That was an unusually strong year for the desert monsoon.
Monsoons develops when a high pressure in the upper atmosphere fills with moisture and moves toward a low pressure where there is intense desert heat. The result can be a sudden, torrential thunderstorm that is usually brief but can leave a lot of water. It is spectacular to see if there is no imminent danger of flooding and you are in a safe area.
One of the problems when this happens in the desert is the flash flooding. Here in Ivins and Southern Utah there are a lot of dry gullies that can turn into swift mini rivers pretty rapidly. We’ve had at least three storms that have been deemed “one in a hundred year storms” since we moved here in 1978. The first one flooded our basement with mud and water … a helpless feeling when you can’t stop it and just have to wait for the rain to end.
But … when all is said and done … I love these summer storms and so do the children. It’s enough to halt all work and declare it a holiday!
How well I remember my first rainfall in Las Vegas. We moved there July 3, 1997 and though a cloud would burst here and there across the valley, I think it was a good six months before there was rain on our street. I went outside and held my hands out and danced! Then I went inside and wrote a story about a windowsill that got wet from the rain and … well, never mind, that’s just showing how crazy I was. I also sat watching the tv news and the people who really were crazy trying to drive through standing water at intersections. I was sure happy to see the rain, but happy I could be home and not stuck somewhere out there in a car.
I absolutely love a good desert storm. I am an avid Lake Powell visitor, and love it when a thunder and lightening storm comes our way.
I love the smell of the rain… it is something that will always remain in my mind, fresh and sweet in the air.
I have a vacation home in the high desert of California and last weekend we had a whooper of a “tornado”, which is unheard of around here. It was phenomenal!
Yes, a Desert Monsoon is a summer treat for me!