Monsoon Rain | The Flooding in the Southwest
Monsoon rain is probably the main hazard of the monsoon season, with all the floods and human impacts it has. Learn more here…
I released a previous post not too long ago about monsoons, and we went over the basics of them. In this post, I will go further into the precipitation part of it and the flooding that it causes. Most of the annual rain in parts of the southwest is from the monsoon season, so it is important to know about it.
This post is all about monsoon rain.
Large-Scale Monsoon Rain
Monsoon Season Recap
In case you missed the last post about the monsoon season, I will do a quick recap of when the monsoon season is and how much of the Southwest’s annual rain comes from it. The season is usually from July through September, but it can vary from year to year. Some years monsoon season waits until July to show up, and others end in late August. The Southwest monsoon rain amounts are around or under a foot of rain, depending on the place. Monsoon season is one of two rainy seasons in the region, along with a smaller December through January one. Monsoon tornadoes are not common during the season.
Where does Monsoon Flooding Occur?
Monsoon flooding occurs most often in dry places where the ground cannot absorb water very well because it doesn’t rain a lot. As shown in the image above, the desert with the plants and bushes gains a lot of water, especially in areas where there already is a river or valley. Flooding occurs very often in residential areas during storms, for example, if there is a road where there is heavy precipitation, the road gets flooded by the waters, even though in most places it doesn’t get too high because of the drainage system. There are also lower places that get VERY flooded in residential places like parks. Flooding is one of the biggest issues when it comes to monsoon rain.
What Type of Damage can Monsoon Rain Cause?
The damage that the precipitation can cause is pretty bad, especially if you live in a rural desert or on a river. If you have a home on the river, the erosion of the river flooding can cause the walls of the river, which your house sits on, to collapse. This would cause your house to fall into the river. If the monsoon storms produce hail, and occasionally tornadoes, that can cause damage too. Hail is common with these storms and can cause damage to walls and homes on some occasions. Tornadoes can cause damage by damaging houses, even though tornadoes in the monsoon areas with strong ratings are very rare.
