Clouds' Illusions

It didn't rain today in Tucson.

Let me qualify that: it probably rained on the edges of Tucson.  There was lightning over the Tucson mountains and the lower end of the Catalinas near the Rincons. There were the vertical streaks on the horizon in two directions that could mean either virga (rain that doesn't reach the ground), or real rain.  But in the city, nothing.  Nothing but clouds.

Still, it's getting closer.  The monsoon is coming.  Had I taken pictures for you a week ago, it would have been all blue sky, with maybe a little fluffy cloud over the northwest or southeast edge of the Tucson valley. Another day or two, maybe another week, and we'll have rain--not the little half-hearted sprinkle that leaves spots on my car, but a gullywasher that turns Tucson Boulevard into a river.

The pictures here (except for the one of my car) were all taken around 5 PM today.  It wasn't even almost sunset, but the sky was fairly dark. It was also windy, which is typical of this weather. But after sunset, we could see that the sky was clearing.  For the second night in a row, the planet Venus was visable.  No stars yet, but Venus.

Everyone in Tucson is waiting for the monsoon.  It's the main topic of conversation.  The guys at vehicle emissions, testing fumes in a 110 degree open concrete building, watch the sky and wait.  People give each other updates at the bank, or when they get home from work. People get on the rooftops, patch them, and give them a fresh layer of white "cool cote," so there won't still be leaks in the ceiling when the rain starts. People look at their filthy cars, and try to decide whether it's worth going to the car wash, only to see the car get dirty again the next time it sprinkles, or else get cleaner in the first big storm.

There's a book called Arizona 101 that we bought when we arrived here in 1986.  "When everyone at the office rushes to the window, you know it's raining," the book said.  That's pretty much true.  Once every couple of years, in the winter, everyone looks out the window at hail or snow. In the summer, if it's really pouring, say about 5 PM on a weekday, people stand around and wait for a break in the storm before dashing to their cars, or else leave a few minutes early to avoid the worst of the flooding.

I took a bunch of pictures today from the edge of the Costco parking lot.  Here are two of them. The green stuff is mesquite and greasewood and palo verde trees and sagebrush, all growing in the Rillito River.  That's right; you're looking at a dry river bed. And yes, all that white stuff is trash. There were also a bunch (covey?) of Gambel's quail, but they wouldn't pose for the camera.

There's one other point I could mention about the Arizona desert before the monsoon hits.  It's hot.  It's over 100 degrees, and getting humid. Between here and Nogales or Naco, between the Mexican border and Sells, people die almost every day this time of year, trying to get from Mexico to Tucson and beyond.  They die of heat or dehydration, or get shot, or die in vehicle accidents in overloaded vans owned by "coyotes"--professional smugglers of illegal immigrants. The latest trend is that these people get abandoned in overloaded vans, or those vans tip over on the freeway, with 30 people inside.  What a waste of life. But people keep doing it, because even a minimum wage job in Tucson means a better life--if they survive long enough to get one. There must be a better way.

Karen




No More Deaths
Tucson, Rain & Those Hazy Crazy Memories of Summer
Fire on the Mountain - More on the Monsoon
National Weather Service - Tucson monsoon page
National Weather Service - Tucson forecast