Oh Please Let Arizona Monsoon Be Over Soon!

9.19.2010 - Every year it comes in like a lion and...out like a lion! This year's monsoon (like every year, actually) caused major damage in certain places and barely made an appearance in others. It ripped part of the roof off of the Cardinals Stadium. During a storm back in August we had 2 inches of rain in about an hour, flooding the backyard and causing the wash next door to be so full water overflowed into the valley below it.

It's been pretty quiet up here in the North Valley for a few weeks and that makes me a little nervous. I've accepted monsoon has just about ended and put back all of the lawn furniture, umbrellas and fixtures. According to my anemometer (yes, I have one installed, doesn't every good gardener and weather nerd?) it takes about 60MPH winds to knock over the very heavy furniture. Monsoon up here does this about 2 to 3 times a season.

So, as I put everything back together again I wonder, is monsoon over for good this year, or am I just jinxing it by making the backyard look as if someone lives here again? It sure does feel 'monsoonish' out there today, 109, humid and very breezy. Official end date is September 30. Only time and mother nature will tell.

I took this photo right before the skies opened up one day last month. To give you an idea of the size of this cloud, that bird has about a 3-foot wingspan.