FLAGSTAFF, Arizona (AP) – After two bone-dry years that plunged the American Southwest deeper into drought, this summer’s rainy season was unleashed in fury.
Monsoon storms have brought spectacular lightning shows, an abundance of wildflowers and mushrooms, and record rainfall to the region’s deserts. They have also wreaked havoc, flooding streets and homes, leading to some rapid water rescues and more than a dozen deaths.
It is a notable reversal of 2019 and 2020 when the annual period known simply as the “monsoons” dried up the region. The seasonal weather pattern, which lasts from mid-June to September, raises high hopes of rain, but humidity is not guaranteed.
“That traumatized a lot of us here in the Southwest and really worried when the monsoons break,” said Mike Crimmins, a climatologist at the University of Arizona. “And then here comes the 2021 monsoon, and it’s almost like we’re trying to catch up on the last two seasons.”
Tucson, in southern Arizona, marked its wettest July on record, sitting third for record rainfall during a monsoon on Thursday. Phoenix Airport is above average for the season, but far from breaking the city’s record, the National Weather Service said. Some higher-lying cities in the Phoenix metropolitan area did better.
Payson has logged nearly 13 inches of rain so far – about 6 inches above normal. An area south of Flagstaff had hail 2.5 inches in diameter, according to the weather service.
“That’s usually something you see on the news across the Midwest during tornado season,” said meteorologist Cindy Kobolb in Flagstaff. “Forecasters who have been here for decades can’t even tell when they last saw hailstones this big in the state.”
Some places like Window Rock, Navajo Nation and Farmington, New Mexico, have only been below normal for the season so far. The Hopi tribe recently ordered a livestock reduction in the reserve in northeast Arizona, which is experiencing severe to extreme drought.
“The entire Four Corners area has just been wiped out by the drought,” said Clay Anderson, an Albuquerque meteorologist. “They have seen some improvements, but they still need a lot more.”
Roswell in southeast New Mexico received nearly double its normal rainfall, while Albuquerque lagged in the northwest. Precipitation can vary widely, even within cities, due to the hit-and-miss nature of the monsoons.
The remnants of tropical storm Nora pushed moisture into the region this week and increased precipitation totals. With every storm, officials warn of possible flood hazards. At least 10 people have died in Arizona since the monsoons started this year, and at least four have died in floods in New Mexico.
Despite the abundant rainfall, the region still tends to have hotter and drier weather conditions due to climate change. All of Arizona and most of New Mexico are experiencing some drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.
“I’m really trying to enjoy it the way it is now because I don’t think we’re going to see this every summer,” said Crimmins.
The monsoons are characterized by a shift in wind patterns that attract moisture from the tropical coast of Mexico. Many cities in Arizona and New Mexico receive much of their annual rainfall during the monsoons. During a strong season, the moisture extends into southern Utah, Colorado, and California, Crimmins said.
The downpours can fill shallow aquifers and temporarily fill reservoirs. But rain is not a solution for drought-stricken lakes and rivers like the Colorado River in the western United States. These systems are mainly based on snowmelt and have been shrinking for more than two decades due to a mega-drought.
The expected weather pattern of La Nina this winter means that snowpack could become scarce in the west, forecasters say. This worries fire department managers who are fighting increasingly severe fires like those in California.
“The net effect of a rugged monsoon is that it helps in the short term but can prepare the Southwest for an active and extended fire season for the next year or two,” said Punky Moore, a Southwest spokeswoman for the US Forest Service Region.
The same vegetation that can fuel forest fires when dehydrated also feeds insects, said Gene Hall, an entomologist at the University of Arizona. More butterflies, more moths and more pesky mosquitos, he said.
Some insects, like the cockroach-like palo verde beetle, only come out to mate during the monsoons. Flying ants and termites congregate in the hundreds or thousands to mate after the monsoon rains, Hall said.
“Water is life in the desert and we had a lot of water,” he said. “Everything seems to be going pretty well.”
Counting mushrooms.
Christopher May of Scottsdale found more than 100 species of mushrooms, including some rare ones, while traveling in the Arizona mountains this summer. When it rains more, they’re easier to find and sometimes hide the forest floor like coral reefs in the sea, he said.
“We have some of the best mushroom hunts in the country right now, maybe the best,” he said.
Anissa Doten has a love-hate relationship with the monsoons. She grew up in Tucson, watching the sky light up when thunderstorms came and listening to the rain. It was her favorite weather, almost magical, she said.
Her feelings are more complicated now, as she lives in the shadow of a mountain that burned in Flagstaff in 2019. The house she shares with her five children has been flooded repeatedly this year, including during what officials called a “500 year” rainy event.
Whenever alarms go off on their phones, they rush to check the weather indicators and make sure everyone is safe and someone is home to pump water and rebuild sandbags.
“It’s a completely different fear-driven mode of action,” she said.
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