According to an editorial in the Arizona Republic, seven people in Phoenix have died in the last two days of a vicious heat wave, with record-breaking temps topping 116 degrees.
The editorial adds:
"…there’s something else that’s eerie and ominous about this heat wave. Sunday’s storm notwithstanding, the monsoon – a seasonal shift in wind patterns that we count on for midsummer rain and heat relief – is mysteriously absent.
The average monsoon starts on July 7, but we’re now pushing toward a record-late commencement of what’s expected, in any event, to be a drier than average season."
Metereologists expect the monsoon to arrive this weekend. For the sake of Phoenix and the entire southwest, let’s hope they’re right.
Kit Stolz 