Monsoons are a weather phenomenon caused by unequal heating of the earth’s surface. The land heats up to a higher degree than the surrounding ocean, causing heat to rise and creating an area of low pressure. The pressure difference then causes a wind shift with the winds blowing towards land and picking up water from the ocean as it moves. In some parts of the world, this process picks up an incredible amount of water and dumps it on the land, but not where we live in the American southwest. We are far inland from the ocean with mountain ranges in between. Our monsoons deliver rain in the form of thunderstorms in the late afternoon.