Maricopa Senior LivingPublished on Monsoons - National Weather Service, Phoenix
- Summer in the Southwest - from the National Weather Service.
Each year, a variety of weather-related dangers affect the American Southwest, especially from late spring into early autumn. Through a collaborative effort between SW U.S. National Weather Service offices, the time period from June 15th through September 30th has been defined as "The Monsoon." - The Monsoon is a period of extreme heat that is typically ongoing at its onset, which in the coming days or weeks is followed by an influx of moisture leading to daily rounds of thunderstorms. The heat is deadly in its own right, causing more deaths than any other weather hazard in the region each year. In addition, thunderstorms present an array of hazards which often strike suddenly and with violent force often causing damage and flash flooding.
Lightning strikes, high winds, dust storms, wildfires, tornadoes, flash flooding and extreme heat cause numerous deaths and injuries along with tens of millions of dollars of damage each year (see www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/).
Road closures, as well as power and communication outages are additional consequences of monsoon weather hazards.
Typically, the North American Monsoon - includes:
Flash Flooding: Heavy Rain falling in a short period of time resulting in a rapid rise of water.
Damaging Winds: Strong to severe winds of 50-80 mph are common with the strongest thunderstorms.
Lightning: Arizona averages over 500,000 lightning strikes every Monsoon!
Dust Storms: South-central Arizona gets more dust storms than anywhere in the U.S. during the Monsoon.
Heat: Deadly heat is common throughout the summer across Arizona.
