North American Monsoon—July 2026

/ Add comment
Distant storms produce large anvils with mammatus on the undersides.

We are once again in the North American Monsoon season. This year’s monsoon began slowly with a few false starts in early July but arrived in earnest by the middle of the month. And what a wet period the second half of the month was over parts of northern Arizona. Rainfall measured at the Flagstaff airport was 3.63″ compared to the 30-year (1991–2020) average of 2.61″ and the total period of record (1898–2026) of 2.74″.

07 July 2026

The summer monsoon hadn’t really started yet—but there was enough moisture available to get a few cumuliform clouds and a nice sunset. It was a good practice session for what was to follow.

Light from the setting sun illuminates the base of clouds over Anderson Mesa in northern Arizona.
Light from the setting sun illuminates the base of clouds over Anderson Mesa in northern Arizona.
A few clouds glow with the light of the setting sun while smoke from the Pocket Fire can be seen just above the horizon.
A few clouds glow with the light of the setting sun while smoke from the Pocket Fire can be seen just above the horizon.

18 July 2026

Monsoon moisture finally arrived and big storms were present. The sunset light on the clouds and rain was remarkable!

Several large thunderstorms over central Arizona.
Several large thunderstorms over central Arizona.
As the sun set it illuminated both clouds and rain creating this amazing red sunset sky.
As the sun set it illuminated both clouds and rain creating this amazing red sunset sky.
Add a bit of lightning and the sky becomes truly wild.
Add a bit of lightning and the sky becomes truly wild.
A few more lightning flashes light up the sky with the San Francisco Peaks visible in the distance.
A few more lightning flashes light up the sky with the San Francisco Peaks visible in the distance.
Cool, moist outflow from distant storms created this impressive shelf cloud.
Cool, moist outflow from distant storms created this impressive shelf cloud.

20 July 2026

Thunderstorms began in late morning and by noontime were producing lightning over the San Francisco Peaks. As the storms moved away from the Peaks there was a nice display of mammatus clouds.

A composite of five shots in a 4-minute period of lightning strikes on the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff.
A composite of five shots in a 4-minute period of lightning strikes on the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff.
The storms produced hail over the higher elevations of the peaks.
The storms produced hail over the higher elevations of the peaks.
A beautiful display of cumulonimbus mammatus clouds over Flagstaff.
A beautiful display of cumulonimbus mammatus clouds over Flagstaff.

26 July 2026

This was another day with early afternoon convection producing lighting strikes on the San Francisco Peaks.

Lightning strikes the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff.
Lightning strikes the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff.
Lightning strikes the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff.
Lightning strikes the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff.

27 July 2026

The storms on this day were truly dramatic. The original plan was to shoot the nearly full Moon as it rose behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona but storms and clouds required a Plan B. And it was a good Plan B.

Distant storms produce large anvils with mammatus on the undersides.
Distant storms produce large anvils with mammatus on the undersides.
Late afternoon sun illuminates distant storms and produces beautiful colors on the anvils.
Late afternoon sun illuminates distant storms and produces beautiful colors on the anvils.
The setting sun illuminates the anvil remains of earlier thunderstorms.
The setting sun illuminates the anvil remains of earlier thunderstorms.

29 July 2026

Fewer storms were present on this day as a drying trend began across Arizona. But there were still some great storms with lightning.

Distant storm over eastern Arizona.
Distant storm over eastern Arizona.
Thunderstorm with multi-branched cloud-to-ground lightning on the grasslands of Anderson Mesa.
Thunderstorm with multi-branched cloud-to-ground lightning on the grasslands of Anderson Mesa.

30 July 2026

The drying trend continued and even fewer storms were present but once again lightning and rainbows could be found.

Thunderstorm with lightning with a vast grassland in the foreground.
Thunderstorm with lightning with a vast grassland in the foreground.
Thunderstorm with lightning with a vast grassland in the foreground.
Thunderstorm with lightning with a vast grassland in the foreground.
Thunderstorms with lightning and a short rainbow segment.
Thunderstorms with lightning and a short rainbow segment.
Zoomed-in view of the rainbow.
Zoomed-in view of the rainbow.
Last light on a dissipating thunderstorm behind Mormon Mountain.
Last light on a dissipating thunderstorm behind Mormon Mountain.
Rainfall totals for July 2026 from the Flagstaff raingauge network.
Rainfall totals for July 2026 from the Flagstaff raingauge network.

The monsoon burst of mid-to-late July is over and we are now in a monsoon break period. Hopefully we will see another active period soon.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Prove you are not a \'bot! * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.