Monsoon Clouds Over Cathedral Rock

Every summer, Sedona experiences several weeks of monsoon weather. Typically, the days begin with blue skies and hot temperatures. Late afternoon, dark clouds begin to form, and there will be rolling rain storms -- sometimes producing torrential downpours and flash floods. The storms typically last for 30 minutes to an hour. Then the skies clear up and the cycle repeats the next day. This year (and last) the rains have been arriving around 6PM. In earlier years, the rains usually touched down around 3PM. Early or late, the rains are very welcome in Sedona. The local vegetation, animals, aquifers, even Sedona's famous red rocks come alive when the rains come. I shot this photo yesterday, from the rooftop of my house at about 7PM local time.

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