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Monsoon 2006 : Monsoon Season in Tucson Arizona On a typical day during the Arizona monsoon...thunderstorms develop first in the early afternoon over the higher mountains and the Mogollon Rim. Rain cooled air from these thunderstorms, known as outflow, moves down from the high country and into the deserts. Acting like a small scale cold front, this outflow causes the hot and moist desert air to rise, producing thunderstorms. Over the higher deserts, storms generally occur during the mid and late afternoon, while activity is most prevalent over the lower deserts during the late afternoon and evening. On most days, thunderstorm activity ends altogether by around Midnight or 1:00 AM. As these thunderstorms decay, microbursts, producing severe wind gusts are quite common. Severe thunderstorm wind gusts are defined as those that equal or exceed 57 mph. The North American Monsoon is a prominent feature of the climate of the Southwest U. S. including a significant part of the Intermountain West region. The monsoon is an important feature of the atmospheric circulation over the North American continent, and its effects are noticeable over a large portion of western United States, particularly Arizona, New Mexico, and to a lesser degree, Utah and Colorado.

Monsoon 2006

Monsoon Season in Tucson Arizona On a typical day during the Arizona monsoon...thunderstorms develop first in the early afternoon over the higher mountains and the Mogollon Rim. Rain cooled air from these thunderstorms, known as outflow, moves down from the high country and into the deserts. Acting like a small scale cold front, this o ...

Updated: Jul 31, 2006 5:42pm PST

Lightning : Monsoon Season in Tucson Arizona On a typical day during the Arizona monsoon...thunderstorms develop first in the early afternoon over the higher mountains and the Mogollon Rim. Rain cooled air from these thunderstorms, known as outflow, moves down from the high country and into the deserts. Acting like a small scale cold front, this outflow causes the hot and moist desert air to rise, producing thunderstorms. Over the higher deserts, storms generally occur during the mid and late afternoon, while activity is most prevalent over the lower deserts during the late afternoon and evening. On most days, thunderstorm activity ends altogether by around Midnight or 1:00 AM. As these thunderstorms decay, microbursts, producing severe wind gusts are quite common. Severe thunderstorm wind gusts are defined as those that equal or exceed 57 mph.

Lightning

Monsoon Season in Tucson Arizona On a typical day during the Arizona monsoon...thunderstorms develop first in the early afternoon over the higher mountains and the Mogollon Rim. Rain cooled air from these thunderstorms, known as outflow, moves down from the high country and into the deserts. Acting like a small scale cold front, th ...

Updated: Jun 07, 2006 3:56pm PST