Why a monsoon storm, Arizona's weather bad girl, beguiles us
We live in a place where the rain never falls, until it seems to fall all at once.
A fierce, tempestuous monsoon storm may be last thing we want, but it usually arrives when it is the only thing we need.
It is mysterious, unpredictable.
And for all the trouble it can bring, the turmoil, the occasional heartbreak, when it is slow to come around and completely disrupt our lives, like this year … we miss it.
Perhaps because every monsoon storm is beguiling and magical. And potentially dangerous.
It's not like this anywhere else
We know it might not be good for us. We know this on a visceral level from past experience.
Yet it’s something we covet.
If you’ve lived anywhere else, another state, this is not the kind of relationship you had with the weather. It is not predictable. It is not reciprocal.
It is not something we count on, but we understand it. How it is sometimes whimsical. Often mercurial. We appreciate it.
Not because of our experience with lighting or thunder or wind or rain, but because we’ve had entanglements like this in life.
Monsoon storms are like crazy romances
A monsoon storm travels where it travels, comes and goes when it pleases, arrives suddenly, fades away, pops up again, disappears, reappears, while we remain at home, waiting.
A monsoon storm is someone you were warned about but dated anyway, because it was crazy fun and risky.
It wasn’t anything you counted on. But you hoped. Waited. Played it cool.
Even as a friend reminded you, or you reminded yourself, that there is a difference between someone you see when there is time and someone who makes time to see you.
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Infatuation can cloud the mind. Besides, as the poet W.B. Yeats said, “Everything that’s lovely is/ But a brief, dreamy, kind delight.”
Monsoon storms are like that.
When the first drops of rain hit the roof
Clouds will appear on the horizon and slowly drift over your neighborhood in the late afternoon or early evening.
They may leave only a sprinkle of rain, a peck on the cheek.
It may seem as if a storm is imminent, but you cannot be certain. You must be patient. You know it will be worth the wait.
The first hint of wind rustling tree limbs causes a flutter in your chest. Your heart keeps time with the first big drops of rain hitting the roof.
Will it howl or will it whisper? Will it soothe you or agitate you? Or both?
It may arrive suddenly and just as suddenly be gone. It will leave you exhausted but wanting more.
Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why a monsoon storm, weather's bad girl, beguiles us
