Monsoon

In the desert it almost never rains. I know, you know. When I lived in upstate New York, in my foolish youth, I bought a motorcycle in the beginning of April. I was anxious to learn to ride. Too bad, because it rained every day for an entire month. Now I live in New Mexico. Two years ago we had not one drop between the end of December and July.

Where you live the weather turns with a unique step. Here, the summer breaks in July when the monsoon comes. Moist air from the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Mexico flow north over the state and give rise to afternoon thunderstorms. It is the most beautiful weather of the year here. The clouds rise miles—literally—into the sky and continuously billow in fractal glory.

Last week I configured my Raspberry Pi computer with its PiCam to take time-lapse video out my back window. The view is to the east over the Sandia Mountains. I took pictures about every six seconds from 10:30 am until dark, around 8:30 pm. The whole day compressed into four and a half minutes. The best video was from July 14, others are below.

It is hard to understand the desert if you have never lived in one. In the picture below you can see what it would be like if Leeds were in Albuquerque. A nation that ruled the world for a few hundred years fits comfortably in the desert southwest.