Southwest monsoon season picks up
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The desert of the southwestern section of the United States has turned especially wet over the last 7 days. On Friday, August 5, Death Valley in California picked up 1.46″ which is just under what they average for the entire year. Many other spots can be estimated on the radar getting 3-4″ of rainfall in this time frame. Even Denver, had some flooding impact the area on Sunday a little bit further north. The problem is most of these places in the desert are accumulating a lot of this rain, compared to what they see yearly, in a short time causing flooding concerns.
In general, this is what we call monsoon season. The upper air pattern in July and August usually sees the subtropical ridge to the south move northward and drive more moisture in from the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. During this time period known as monsoon season, plenty of spots in the southwest pick up 40-50 percent of their rainfall.
No singular thunderstorm is a monsoon, but the pattern itself is where the name comes from. Rainfall mainly comes as afternoon and evening thunderstorms that are scattered in nature. More rainfall is anticipated within the next week in this region.
