The Southwest Monsoon, bringing welcome rains to the Desert Southwest, occurs in summer each year, though its intensity and extent often varies. The nourishing rains and thunderstorms develop as moist air is swept in from the Sea of Cortez and the Gulf of Mexico by winds generated between low pressure over southeastern California (or the Upper Baja) and high pressure over the Southern Plains.
Such an atmospheric scenario is currently developing in that region and thunderstorms are expected to rumble across the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico over the next few days; unlike the summer monsoon, this weather pattern will bring snow to the higher elevations of the Four Corner States, especially in northern Arizona, New Mexico and southern Colorado.
While the summer monsoon brings vital moisture to these dry lands and this week's storms will augment the region's snowpack, the current "monsoon" may also douse some of the revelry over Super Bowl Weekend (held in Phoenix this year). Apparently, Mother Nature is not a football fan.
