|
 According
to legend and myth the great “Thunder God” roars
during the summer months in Arizona. Many of us do
not find this hard to believe if we have experienced
a violent thunderstorm in the Apache Junction area
during the summer Monsoons.
During the summer months most of the storms over
central Arizona and the eastern portion of the
Superstition Mountain Wilderness result from warm
moist air flowing in from the Gulf of Mexico and Sea
of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California). As
this air moves across Texas, New Mexico and Mexico,
it is dried out. Mountains force the moist warm air
upward forming clouds that release their moisture as
they rise. This is known as orographic lift.
These massive anvil-shaped thunderhead clouds that
form over Superstition Mountain from July to
September normally combine both orographic lift and
convectional activity. Convectional storm clouds
result from the rapidly rising and expanding warm
moist air and the rapidly falling cold moist air.
Uneven heating of the earth’s surface causes
convectional activity in the atmosphere.
Lightning can be caused by the attraction of unlike
electrical charges within a thunderhead. The rapid
movement of ice and
 water
molecules, going up and down in a thunderhead cell,
creates friction that results in enormous amounts of
static electricity being produced. A single
lightning discharge can produce about 30 million
volts at 125,000 amperes. A discharge can occur in
less than 1/10 of a second. The results of a
lightning strike can be horrific.
The rapid rising and falling of warm and cold moist
air also creates violent bursts of energy. This type
of activity results in micro-bursts. These
micro-bursts can develop winds that momentarily
reach up to 200 mph. As the clouds build and combine
they form massive anvil-shaped thunderheads called
cumulonimbus clouds. These clouds are massive static
electric generators dispersing lightning and
creating violent winds. These summer thunderstorms
are extremely violent and dangerous.
It is these giant thunderheads that dominate the sky
above Superstition Mountain during the monsoon
season, and the lightning produced by these storms
can be spectacular.
According to most sources, the safest place during a
lightning storm is in an automobile. Don’t make
yourself part of a lightning rod during an
electrical storm by standing by a lone tree or on a
high point. The use of your telephone during a
violent lightning storm could be your last
conversation. The same is true of connecting to the
Internet during a lightning storm. Standing near or
in a swimming pool is asking to meet your maker.
Boating on a lake during a lightning storm is
certainly risking your chances of living to a ripe
old age. Common sense needs to prevail during our
violent thunder and lightning storms.
Most Arizona monsoon storms are associated with two
other dangerous factors: flash floods and dust
storms. A Thunderstorm can dump three to five inches
of rain over a small area in an hour and create a
massive flash flood. A flash flood near Payson in
the 1970’s claimed twenty-two campers along
Christopher Creek. Many years ago I witnessed a
four-foot wall of water roaring down Hewitt Canyon
claiming trucks, horse trailers and a couple
animals. This flash flood resulted from rain in the
mountains and there was very little rain at the site
of the flood.
Huge dust clouds are often associated with Monsoon
storms in the desert. Local weather reporters often
referring to Monsoon generated dust storms as Haboob.
Egyptian dust storms that blow in from the deserts
in North Africa are called Haboob.
Dust storms are extremely dangerous to vehicle
traffic along our state’s highways and freeways and
extreme caution should be used during these storms.
It is recommended that motorists pull as far off the
highway as possible and turn off your lights. While
waiting for the dust storm to blow over don’t rest
your foot on the brake pedal. Your taillights or
brake lights might attract drivers in the storm who
think they are following you.
If you’ve ever witnessed a violent electrical storm
over Superstition Mountain, it’s not difficult to
see why the early native Americans held the mountain
in such awe. We can partially explain the phenomena
today with modern science, but the early native
Americans could only look to their Gods for an
explanation. It certainly was their “Thunder God”
with all its fury.
We, as late arrivals, must also respect the awesome
power of their “Thunder God.” |
