Monsoons are so misunderstood. They are simply a seasonal reversal of the regional wind patterns. They are critically necessary in places like India where crops will fail if the monsoon winds fail to being moisture-laden air into the subcontinent. But they reverse in the dry season, bringing colder and drier air south from the Tibetan Plateau.

In the southwest US, usually a weaker monsoonal pattern develops when a continental high sets up around Four Corners, bringing moisture-laden air from the eastern Pacific and the Gulf of California. They help a great deal in squelching wildfires but can also cause flash flooding. If they aren’t “wet enough” they can cause dry thunderstorms - lightning with little rain. Not good.

These produced nearly a half inch (~13 mm) of light to moderate soaking rains over several hours. Perfect.