The Welcome Tucson Winter Monsoons…
The tiny beads of water dance on the orange plastic wrap which encloses the morning paper. Although it is nearly 9 am, the dark grey skies look like Connecticut (from where I migrated) on a day which bodes snow. A gentle rain, actually what I would call a sprinkle, dampens the earth.
This is a day to stay home and do paperwork, catch up on phone calls, and not drive around town for whatever reasons. These days are like snow days back in Connecticut when the glistening snow and ice weighs down the tree branches and sparkles like a million diamonds.
This lovely and welcome greyness is part of the Tucson winter monsoon season. The surrounding mountain ranges are covered by low lying clouds and I suspect there is snow on top of the Catalinas. When this storm clears out, we will have snow capped mountains for a short period of time contrasting against the Arizona sunshine.
The leaves from the Arizona Ash, a deciduous tree in the back yard, will shed even more green turned yellow leaves and fall into the pool, rippling with tiny raindrops. The pomegranates, nearly bare, have an abundance of fruit filled with holes, thanks to birds seeking the sweet juices. And the citrus trees, always green, are slurping up the rain as the branches of the oranges and grapefruits sway somewhat in the wind.
We need this slow, gentle rain. The water has time to seep into the ground and is not violent or rapacious like the heavy rains which pelt the earth and run off without percolating and benefiting the vegetation.
We Tucsonans love this weather. It is infrequent and needed. This is “dancing in the street” weather. Out of towners, who are accustomed to rain are puzzled by our excitement and gratitude for these beads of moisture. Certainly the winter monsoons are not like the summer monsoons which often present dazzling lightning shows with the rays of rain.
I hear the trickle of the raindrops flowing down the gutters…oh what a beautiful day…the white grey of the sky obscures even the houses in the distance and my mind is playing the refrain, “let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!”.
Resources:
Weather and Monsoons
http://ag.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/weather/monsoon.htm
http://geography.asu.edu/aztc/monsoon.html
Tags: Celebrate, My Point of View, Points of View, Tucson