The pictures are in!

Well, woke up to a more typical sunny Arizona day. I felt like it was Easter morning after a rainy Saturday like I used to experience during my childhood. Sierra Vista wasn't too bad after the unending rains, but Tucson and other parts of Arizona took a blow. There is a huge sinkhole on one road and numerous roads that have new "rivers" flowing across them. So glad that I don't have to go to Tucson during the weekend! I looked at the local paper's website to pick off some pictures from local readers. Maybe I will be able to catch some of my own tomorrow!





So here is a picture of Country Club Rd. The reason I put this up....this road is part of my route home!




This is the Rillito River, where you can find people walking on a trail that runs along the length of it. This river is just a dry riverbed during most of the year. When I first got here, I couldn't understand why they called it a river. Must be one of those seasonal ones!




This picture, I think, is just beautiful. It looks like it is along I-10 with the monsoon dumping rain on the north and south of it. It just shows how hit-and-miss it is when it comes to getting rain here. Most of the time, places like Oro Valley and the east side will get dumped on, receiving more than an inch of rain in an hour, yet the airport (where precipitation is recorded) won't get a drop!




The last picture I wanted to show is a spectacular lightning shot. I couldn't capture an image like this even if I tried. I just have a basic digital camera. So, along with flash floods, you can expect lots of beautiful lightning shows during monsoon season. I was driving home one day last week during a downpour when out of the corner of my eye I saw a quick flash of light embedded in the low clouds. A few second later I heard the loudest boom of thunder....reminded me of those fireworks they like to throw into the mix--they're not flashy at all, but when you see them, plug your ears!


They also have something here called the "stupid motorist law." It's for those "stupid motorists" who see a street barricaded off, obviously because it's flooded, but insist the water isn't *that* deep and still attempt to drive across. This usaully results in a swift water rescue. The law states that if you drive around barricades or through an area that is labeled "flood area," you are paying for your own rescue! Smart move by the state. No law against stupid pedestrians yet, though. And a couple nights ago, heard on the evening news that some kids were missing after being seen tubing on a flooded wash. *Groan*


Anyways, for more crazy monsoon flood/damage pictures go here. For more lightning pictures just click here. All compliments of AZ Star readers!