Over the past several days, monsoon season has been in full swing in Arizona and other areas. We listen to a local radio station where the National Weather Service has the capability to override regular programming with NWS warnings. They have interrupted a couple of times today with alerts for severe thunderstorms in Maricopa and Pinal counties.
Damsel and I were out walking Cabela a few minutes ago when we observed a four-engine jet airliner flying above us (VERY unusual). Since the plane flew overhead eastbound and then turned to a southeast heading toward Phoenix, I can only guess that the crew diverted to this area to avoid the severe storms in progress in west-central Maricopa county and were proceeding toward Phoenix Sky Harbor.
We haven’t seen lightning shows as awesome as those depicted above, but the past several days and evenings have put on a pretty good show of lightning flashes and rolling thunder. We have had a little rain including a steady downpour for a half hour or so two or three evenings ago.
We finally got some yesterday in the Volksrepublik of Kollyvornia, in Palm Desert. Not as powerful as yours, but still, some good lightning, and a lot of rain for this desert.
How I miss the chirping of the toads after a heavy rain out your way. I especially liked to drive down south to Madera Canyon or down around Arivaca where there were literally thousands of them on the road, in a few mile stretch, on a good night.
Crotalus – Damsel and I had a time-share condo near Washington and Country Club years ago. I can not remember one time when we were staying there that it rained!
Glenn – we have yet to see any desert toads. It sounds like you might be talking about Couch’s Spadefoot Toad which is dormant underground until detecting vibrations from thunder at which time they head to the puddles to breed.
Would that be the Resorter condos, just east of Oasis Club Drive? My wife’s aunt and uncle have a condo there.
Of course, if it was a time share, you may not have been there when it did rain. But now that we live there, we’re there when the once-a-year storm goes through.
It wasn’t the Resorter. And it wasn’t exactly a time share. We owned a little 1500 square foot unit inside the Golden Sun Estates on Washington with three other couples. Of course, we were the *only* couple that liked to stay there in the summer so it was like any weekend we could, we would. We were at the house when the Landers and Big Bear earthquakes hit in 1992. We sold the unit in 1996.
Oh, okay. Our house is just a couple of miles away, off Tamarisk Row.