Drew's take on Southern Arizona's Monsoon Season

For those who have never lived in Arizona and think it's all dry heat and sunshine, allow me to introduce you to Monsoon Season. From late June to usually early September, the Southern Arizona skies can turn in what seems like an instant from clear blue and sunny to dark and menacing with some of the most fantastic displays of lightning and ear-shattering thunder you can imagine. It can be a difficult time to get any errands done as you can walk into a store without a drop of rain in sight and exit to pelting downpours of raindrops and hail. It makes for unpredictable traveling too, as it can frequently be just lovely at home and a 5 mile drive to post or Drew's daycare can put me in the eye of the storm within minutes. It can be nice too though because a storm typically drops the temperature by anywhere from 10-30 degrees, which is often a welcome relief in the summer.

Oh, and the wind, I almost forgot about the wind that shakes the house and makes you feel like you could be transported to Oz at any moment. Last summer the wind was powerful enough to frequently blow anything on our patio (Drew's playset, our patio furniture, etc.) up against the outside wall. This also happens to be the wall that the head of our bed is on the other side of. That was a fun way to wake up on more than one night!

Anyway, if any of you are meteorological nerds and want to know why this happens, check out: http://www.arizona-vacation-planner.com/monsoon-season.html


As always, it's entertaining to see how Drew makes sense of things. So here are Drew's observations and comments about monsoon season:

1) Drew's either unclear about what hearing and seeing mean or what the difference between thunder and lightning is, because he frequently states:

"I hear thunder Mama. I hear lightning too. I hear big lightning."

OR...

"I see thunder Mama. I see lightning too."

We've tried explaining that you hear thunder and see lightning but I think the distinction is lost on him.

2) "Thunder goes Boom! Boom! Boom!" (This comment is usually accompanied by giggles as it reminds him of some of the lines in the Dr. Seuss book Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? Incidentally the lightning in this book goes "Splat Splat Splat, so maybe this has contributed to his confusion over being able to hear lightning.)

3) As we're riding in the car...

Drew: It's raining on my window Mama.
Me: Yes it is Drew.
Drew: It's raining on your window too Mama?
Me: Yes it is Drew. It's raining all over the place.
Drew: RAIN ALL OVER THE PLACE!


4) After I've pointed out a bolt of lightning, Drew patiently waits for the next one, whispering and pointing in that general area "Watch. Watch."

5) Most of the time Drew seems to think the thunder and lightning is more interesting than scary, loudly proclaiming when he hears thunder, running to the windows to check out the lightning, and even telling us "Thunder's not so scary". The other night as we were sitting down to dinner, however, Drew looked out the window after hearing a clap of thunder and pointed his finger saying "No no thunder. I no want you! I eat my sagna (lasagna)!" Apparently he wanted no disruptions during dinner time. I had to laugh at his scolding of the thunder though.

I'd love to get some photos of the lightning that literally lights up the sky, but I'm not sure our camera is fast enough. If I'm successful I'll post them...I'm sure I'll have lots of opportunities over the next few months.