It is "Monsoon Season" in the Desert Southwest. Understanding what that means is difficult for someone who has always related "monsoon" to heavy rains and terrible flooding in Southeast Asia. A desert monsoon is a dry one although with many of the other weather characteristics such as lightning and high winds. It was lightning from the monsoon clouds which started the wildfire near Yarnell Hill, Arizona, which killed 19 fire fighters; a fire that burned so quickly and intensely because of the triple digit heat and low humidity. It was the strong unpredictable winds that changed the direction of the fire which overran the firefighters. From now through September those of us living in Southwest Arizona will be watching the skies, not for rain but for all those things that accompany traditional thunderstorms. So don't laugh when your Arizona friends talk about being in the "Monsoon Season."
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