Welcome to Nonsoon season!! (Phoenix, Tucson: bill, dental, areas)

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by VIRAL

Does anyone here have any insight as to what causes this monsoon in the desert? I think it is incredible that places in the desert can get more frequent rainfall, on average, than inland parts of Texas, which are more humid and closer to the Gulf. In fact, go up the mountains down in Mexico, and you will see rainfall frequency averages in July/August that rival the deep tropics.

Inland Texas is a rip-off compared to the desert Southwest; heat and humidity, but with no benefit.

The Sonoran Desert is the wettest desert in the USA (maybe world, too). You have to take that into consideration.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

The Sonoran Desert is the wettest desert in the USA (maybe world, too). You have to take that into consideration.

I thought the Chihuahuan Desert was the wettest, especially in the eastern end (Pecos,Van Horn,Sanderson) and the elevated parts in Coahuila and Chihuahua

[New Horizons]

Wow, it's currently a 68 degree dewpoint with a heat index of 114. That day we hit 120 a couple months ago, had the same heat index as today.

Maybe things might start to dry out a little in 3 to 4 weeks.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

I thought the Chihuahuan Desert was the wettest, especially in the eastern end (Pecos,Van Horn,Sanderson) and the elevated parts in Coahuila and Chihuahua

Not entirely sure, but Ive read from several resources that we're the wettest.

"The Sonoran Desert is one of North America's most interesting deserts, with more plant and animal types than any other desert in the world. It is the wettest and the warmest desert on the North American continent."

Sonoran Desert

[VIRAL]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Here is a pretty good link on it.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/twc/monsoon/monsoon_NA.php

So it seems that the mean center of the ridge is around the "Four Corners" area. So, it makes sense that Arizona and New Mexico would receive loads of rain from the flow. But, from what it looks like, it seems that the ridge has to be really expansive to even have an effect on much of Texas (in July, it looks centered over the Southern Rockies at New Mexico). In that case, I think that inland Texas is normally much wetter than what the averages show, but just has been having a case of "bad luck" in regards to ridge positioning.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by VIRAL

So it seems that the mean center of the ridge is around the "Four Corners" area. So, it makes sense that Arizona and New Mexico would receive loads of rain from the flow. But, from what it looks like, it seems that the ridge has to be really expansive to even have an effect on much of Texas (in July, it looks centered over the Southern Rockies at New Mexico). In that case, I think that inland Texas is normally much wetter than what the averages show, but just has been having a case of "bad luck" in regards to ridge positioning.

This summer has seen repeated troughing over the Pacific NW (unusual for July&Aug), which has been pushing the "4 corners high" into Kansas and Oklahoma

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Not entirely sure, but Ive read from several resources that we're the wettest.

"The Sonoran Desert is one of North America's most interesting deserts, with more plant and animal types than any other desert in the world. It is the wettest and the warmest desert on the North American continent."

Sonoran Desert

With the exception of Death Valley, the driest places in the US are in the Sonoran Desert, mainly the Imperial and Coachella Valleys and the stretch of the Colorado between Blythe and the Gulf of California

[VIRAL]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

This summer has seen repeated troughing over the Pacific NW (unusual for July&Aug), which has been pushing the "4 corners high" into Kansas and Oklahoma

If the "Four Corners" high is too far east in Kansas/Oklahoma, does that still give monsoonal rains, or those the monsoon break? It seems that this monsoon is way more consistent over Mexico's western mountains than it is over the Desert Southwest.

The Indian monsoon is very epic, basically a sight to behold. Places in India can get more rainfall in one month than entire cities can get in a year:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai#Climate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa#Climate

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by VIRAL

If the "Four Corners" high is too far east in Kansas/Oklahoma, does that still give monsoonal rains, or those the monsoon break? It seems that this monsoon is way more consistent over Mexico's western mountains than it is over the Desert Southwest.

The Indian monsoon is very epic, basically a sight to behold. Places in India can get more rainfall in one month than entire cities can get in a year:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai#Climate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa#Climate

July saw below avg rainfall this year, and for the first two weeks of the month, the monsoon was broken, pushed south into Central Mexico

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

July saw below avg rainfall this year, and for the first two weeks of the month, the monsoon was broken, pushed south into Central Mexico

Tucson is about 2 inches above normal for the year to date, mainly due to the monsoon.