Storms in August were more plentiful than in July although there were still some extended breaks in the monsoon. Rainbows remained elusive for me. I was able to photograph a few that displayed short segments but I never captured a full rainbow. Lightning, on the other hand, was plentiful and I did well in that genre.
Here is a partial summary of August monsoon photography.
04 August 2024
Mormon Lake Overlook is a short drive from Flagstaff and affords an amazing 360° view. This was one of the many days with only a partial rainbow but the juxtaposition of the rainbow and the tree in the grasslands of Anderson Mesa was a pleasing composition. A few minutes later the Sun beautifully illuminated some light rain falling from a dissipating thunderstorm. The color was intense and only lasted a few minutes.
A short segment of a rainbow above the grasslands of Anderson Mesa in northern Arizona.A curtain of light rain from a dissipating thunderstorm is brilliantly illuminated by the setting sun.
As mentioned in an earlier post the monsoon had a late start this year–and ended about the middle of September which is fairly typical.
02 September 2023
Lightning bridges the clouds above and fog below in Grand Canyon.Lightning bridges the clouds above and fog below in Grand Canyon.Lightning strikes the walls of Grand Canyon near Desert View Tower.
I went to Grand Canyon early and was photographing storms shortly before 3 P.M. It was interesting and unusual because fog rapidly developed deep inside the canyon as the storms approached from the south. For a moment I wasn’t certain I would see anything in the reduced visibility. But close lightning bolts dropped from the cloud base above, through the clear air, and then disappeared in the fog in the inner canyon. It was really spectacular to see this.
Another storm dropped a lightning bolt into the canyon near Desert View Tower with multiple contact points. Wow!
A double rainbow over Palisades of the Canyon and Desert View Tower in Grand Canyon.A rainbow moments before sunset spans the canyon.
And then the rainbows arrived with some brilliant and colorful arcs of light over Desert View point. Finally, just moments before sunset, another rainbow stretched from the North Rim to the South Rim.
It was an amazing day.
12 September 2023
An early evening storm produced a lot of in-cloud lightning that lit up the thunderstorm at the same time that the setting Sun was illuminating it from the West. And all of this was reflected in the waters of Mormon Lake.
Thunderstorm after sunset near Mormon Lake.
13 September 2023
Storms were more isolated this day allowing for nice views of the convection. I was able to get several photographs of the storms over the Little Colorado River (LCR) valley as I was heading towards Grand Canyon. Late in the afternoon a short segment of a rainbow appeared over the LCR.
An early afternoon thunderstorm over the Little Colorado River valley east of Grand Canyon.Thunderstorm over the eastern portions of Grand Canyon.A short segment of a rainbow with Desert View Tower.
14 September 2023
I spent the late afternoon and early evening in Wupatki National Monument and was able to get some really great sunset photographs. There was lightning after dark but most of it was too far away for interesting structure and branching.
A burst of color on a rain shaft at sunset over Wupatki National Monument.Fading sunset colors over Wupatki National Monument.
15 September 2023
Late afternoon and early evening storms were present to the west of Mormon Lake. I kept hoping for some dramatic lightning with sunset color–but only got the latter. It was still pretty good!
The setting sun illuminates a rain shaft over Mormon Mountain and Mormon Lake.
17 September 2023
I was actually trying to photograph Comet C/2023 P1 Nishimura but these clouds were in the way. This was taken well after sunset and the color was pretty remarkable.
Sunset colors on a mid-level deck of clouds.
So after a late start the monsoon season produced many photogenic opportunities for clouds, sunsets, fog, and lightning. And now the long wait until next season.
Previous posts on the 2023 North American Monsoon:
In a previous post I wrote how the North American Monsoon (NAM) was very late getting started in July. Fortunately, once started, it resulted in normal precipitation amounts for the month of August. Here are photographs and discussion of some of the events during the month.
A double rainbow arches above Wukoki Pueblo in Wupatki National Monument.
The North American Monsoon (NAM) has been slow to get started this year. A general rule of thumb is it gets going around the 4th of July and is considered late (but still normal) by mid-July. Likewise an early start can occur as early as mid June–as it did last year.
Composite image of late afternoon lightning strikes over the grasslands of Wupatki National Monument.A segment of a rainbow over Wukoki Pueblo in Wupatki National Monument.Several lightning clusters that occurred during twilight at Wupatki National Monument.
During the month of July the GFS weather forecast model consistently showed the NAM getting started “Real Soon Now.” But the target was always several days away. Finally, late in the month the rains arrived as an inverted trough (IVT; def. 2) moved across Arizona.
Lightning over the San Francisco Peaks with Marshall Lake in the foreground.Lightning touches down deep in Grand Canyon.
There have been some photogenic storms. A little over a week ago I traveled to the South Rim of Grand Canyon hoping to get some lightning. Although there were some flashes they were far away. On the other hand, the sunset was pretty good. A band of clouds just above the horizon effectively blocked the Sun at my location while beams of light were getting under the clouds and into the canyon farther to the west. The alternating beams of light and shadow were pretty nice.
Beams of light and shadow filter deep into Grand Canyon.Beams of light and shadow filter deep into Grand Canyon.
The following day I went to Wupatki National Monument in hopes of lightning and rainbows. There was a late afternoon storm that moved towards the Monument and produced a lot of lightning. As it got closer it weakened but was still dropping rain and a short time later a beautiful, full double rainbow appeared. All I needed to do was position myself so that I could get the rainbow arch to frame Wukoki Pueblo.
Time lapse of convection developing over the San Francisco Peaks with Marshall Lake in the foreground.
A new storm formed to my southeast as twilight came on and began to produce a lot of lightning. This was the 3rd act of the day and it was a good one.
Later in the week I took a short drive to Marshall Lake near Flagstaff to time lapse the early stages of convection over the San Francisco Peaks–and with some reflections in the waters of the lake. A few lightning bolts landed near the peaks adding to the show.
A few more trips to Grand Canyon rounded out the month.
This Winter has been relentless with snowfall now at about 200% of normal for Flagstaff. Many of these storms have made it difficult to get to various locations for shooting photos of the weather. Fortunately, the last few storms have allowed me to do some pre-dawn travel to favorite locations.
The first two photos are from the morning of 16 March 2023 when I thought there was a good chance of low clouds and fog in Grand Canyon. In fact, there was too much fog and I was only able to briefly see into the canyon while at Lipan Point. I finally moved westward to Moran Point where there was a larger break in the fog allowing sunlight to illuminate the canyon.
Early morning fog in Grand Canyon from Lipan Point.Early morning fog in Grand Canyon from Moran Point.
A week later we had a snow-turning-to-rain event that left the roads relatively easy to travel and I ventured out to Mormon Lake on the morning of 23 March 2023. The abundance of moisture over the previous few days resulted in lots of fog in low-lying basins including Lake Mary and Mormon Lake. Clear skies to the east allowed the rising sun to illuminate the San Francisco Peaks in the distance.
The distant San Francisco Peaks rise above fog filling Mormon Lake basin.Fog fills Mormon Lake Basin. A faint Glory is seen left of center while a short segment of a fogbow is right of center.A fogbow along Upper Lake Mary.
I was also interested in capturing images with a Glory/Brocken Spectre and fogbows. Both were faintly visible in some of the photos where I was above the fog. A better fogbow photo was shot when I was in the fog.
And here is a time-lapse video of the swirling fog in the Mormon Lake basin.
Time-lapse video of fog swirling in Mormon Lake basin.
The medium-range forecasts indicate that Winter is not yet done.
