Finally Some Rain

 I saw the storm warning crawling across my TV screen so I decided to go out to see what the sky looked like.  It definitely looked like a storm was building up.

About an hour later I started to see the lightning lighting up the sky and I could see that the wind was blowing.  This time I stepped out on the balcony to watch the lightning.  And luckily, I was able to catch another lightning shot.  Then it started to rain and it rained for the next hour.  Reports say it was only an inch but in the desert, every little bit helps.

Dust on the Horizon

Sunday night a dust storm rolled into the valley.  I went outside to see if I could get any interesting photos.  Above is the view to the north from my place.  I posted this view back in May when the air was clear, the sky was blue and those mountains were crystal clear.

Then I walked to the west view to see if I could see my great view of Camelback Mountain.  You can barely see the outline of the mountain.  The air was full of dust so I scooted back inside.

As I am writing this, we have a thunderstorm warning for later this evening.  So out I went to see how things looked tonight (Monday night).  I may not have centered the mountain very well but I did capture the lightning.  Bonus!

It's Not All Blue Skies

When I started this post ten years ago in the month of July, it was only natural to post about our summer monsoon storms.  The monsoon season starts in June and runs and runs through September and is marked sometimes by a nightly gathering of clouds and wind.  We are lucky when there is a little rain mixed in but many times the rain seems to stay in the outlying areas leaving the city with just the dust.

We've only had a couple of monsoon storms so far this season and one brought a record rainfall which was very nice.  I hope we get some more.

Stormy Skies

I took a late afternoon walk at the Desert Botanical Garden on Thursday just as a storm was rolling into the valley.  All those clouds made for some pretty dramatic skies while I was there.

There weren't many people there so it was an easy walk.  I finally got to photograph the new reflecting pool area without any people around.  It usually draws quite a crowd.

By the time I left, it was raining and there was quite a bit of lightening and thunder too.  It made for a "windows-open" kind of cool night.

Monsoon Storms

They held off until August but, the monsoon storms have finally arrived.  We've had wind and rain almost every evening this week.  The photo above was taken looking west from my house.  On this particular night we had some great color in the sky.

We also had a bigger storm approaching from the north.  The sky over the mountain looked dark and there were flashes of distant lightening that would make the edges of the mountain light up.  I tried to catch one of those flashes but no luck.

The next night we had some really blustery weather.  Again, this is a view to the west with a decidedly dark and stormy sky heading this way.  We got quite a lot of rain from this one.  At times it came down so hard that they halted incoming flights at the airport.  Hopefully, there is more rain to come.  We sure do need it.

Contemplating the Stormy Skies

Yesterday I mentioned that we had some rain last week.  I took this photo a little earlier in the evening that same night when I went out to collect my mail.  I noticed this bird sitting on the wall and watching the sky.  I went down and got my mail, came back up and he was still there.  He was taking in the whole scene.  We got quite a bit of rain that night and were supposed to get more the next night but that never materialized.  We've had a sort of blah monsoon season so far this year.

Finally some rain!

We had our first monsoon storm of the season Thursday night with some lightening, some thunder, some rain and a lot of wind.  I had dinner at a neighbor's house Thursday night and the walk home was so breezy and cool it was quite refreshing.  We haven't had any rain since March so it was much needed.

Finally....

....some serious rain.  What a surprise on Sunday morning to wake up to rain and lots of it.  It rained for several hours and the sky is still full of clouds.  It's just what we needed.

The ride home...

On my way home from the trip to Prescott on Saturday and a little bit after I had passed that torrential downpour, I stopped at a rest area called Sunset Point on I-17.  I stopped specifically to snap a few pictures of the swirling clouds.  I love the way the sun is breaking through those thick clouds and creating streaks of light.  I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that some of these  rain-laden clouds will make their way to central Phoenix.

Dark sky - No rain

The sky was dark and stormy looking most of the day on Friday but alas, no rain in my area.  I heard on the news that parts of north Scottsdale got a little bit of rain but nothing my side of town.  I stopped in this condo community to catch a photo of the dark sky in the east.

Bright Sun...Dark Clouds

I took this photo a few weeks ago on a day when a storm rolled through the valley.  The sun setting in the west was below the dark clouds that were hovering above.  It made for an interesting contrast.

Unexpected

I was just a few blocks from work last night when the skies opened up and it started to pour down rain. What an unexpected and welcome thunder storm!  I wish it had gone on for longer but, by the time I got home, it had stopped.  Rain showers in Arizona are very short lived.

Arizona Monsoon

For the past few weeks I've periodically posted photos related to the Arizona monsoon and a few of you have commented that you don't think of the desert as a place with monsoon conditions.  I did a little reading about the phenomenon and found that the desert plays a huge role in the monsoon.   In summer months, the wind shifts from a westerly direction to a southerly direction bringing moisture into the area from the Pacific ocean and the gulf of Mexico.  This moist air slams into the intense surface heating of the desert and BAM, storms develop.  Sometimes they are just dust storms (we've had a few really big ones lately) and sometimes the product is a heavy thunderstorm.

At this time of year, we see clouds develop in the afternoon and they seem to build and build until early evening.  They don't always create a storm but, they do create some spectacular skies.  I took the above show through the windshield of my car one afternoon last week.  The clouds were especially picturesque.

Storm Chasing

I mentioned in Sunday's post that we had some clouds on Saturday but, in the afternoon a few storms rolled in as well.  When I started to hear the distant rumble of thunder, I jumped in the car and headed for Steel Indian School Park to see if I could get some dark sky and churning cloud photos.

I wasn't the only photographer with that idea in mind.

Desert Storms

I mentioned on Monday that we had a day of stormy weather last Sunday and yesterday I featured some geese posing for me at Papago Park.  The reason I went to Papago Part was to see if I could get a photo or two of the clouds that were swirling overhead.  This one turned out pretty good.  All day long, the sky was constantly changing with dark clouds followed by white clouds and then more dark clouds.  It was fun to watch!

Rainbow

Sunday in Phoenix saw a huge change in weather patterns.  We went from over 80 (26C) degrees to 48 (9C) degrees overnight when a winter storm moved into the valley.  The folks in the mountains got hit even harder with lots and lots of snow.  Late in the afternoon when I stopped at a friend's house I was met with this beautiful rainbow.  Sorry about all the power lines and poles.   There was no other way to capture the moment.

Firey Sky

We've had a lots of clouds lately but only a tiny bit of rain.  All those clouds make some interesting sunsets.

Icicles in Phoenix

I looked over at this fountain on my drive home from work yesterday and did a double take.  Is that icicles I see?  I went around the block to check it out and sure enough, there were icicles in the fountain!  This is rare sight for Phoenix.

Cotton Candy

If you watch the sky after a storm, you can find amazing cotton candy clouds.

Stormy Weather

More storms roll into the valley yesterday.  I saw a lot of heavy rain and wind but, from the news stories parts of the city got it a lot worse than we did.  I stopped at a grocery store on my way home and snapped this picture of the wet streets.  The good news.....the intense heat we've been having has been washed away.  Finally, some fall weather.