It started last Tuesday (June 27), in my book. That was the first day that it really poured in the afternoon. The official beginning was June 28, because that's when the dew point reached the requisite level. The Monsoon is expected to start around the 4th of July so this counts as early. I really like it. I don't mind getting soaked occasionally riding the bike.

For those of you who don't live where there are monsoons, here's how it works. The morning dawns clear and cool, but with a hint of moisture in the air. Around noon the clouds that have been floating around Simpson's-style start to glob together. Some of the cumulus clouds join up and start billowing. From the distance you can see them pushing higher & higher in the atmosphere. By 3-4 pm there are thunderheads wandering around, sometimes visible because there is space between them, and sometimes hard to track because of other low clouds. You can see the rain coming out of the bottoms of them. When the sun shines on the rain you can also see how much of it evaporates before it hits the ground. This is called verga. There are a lot of magnificent rainbows to be seen during the monsoons.

When the thunderheads drift over YOU the experience is drastic. The temperature drops and it rains, sleets or even hails with a vengeance. Hail can tatter a garden in 2 minutes. Lightning flashes and thunder rolls. And then a few minutes later, it is over. The road dries. The birds bathe in puddles. The world is fresh and clean. Then it dumps again. It continues like this into the evening when finally the thunderheads loose energy because the sun is down, and dissipate.