This is one of my favorite weather times of year in Albuquerque, the moment of anticipation when our monsoon looms. As monsoons go, it’s a pretty modest affair, and I’d frequently get crap from Albuquerque Journal readers objecting to the term – it’s not a real monsoon, someone who’s been to south Asia would frequently complain.

Pshaw.

The pattern, and the reason the pattern matters culturally, is the same: an arid foresummer, hot and dry with a whiff of danger, followed by a moisture pump streaming up from the ocean and then those refreshing afternoon/evening showers.

monsoon creeping north through Mexico

The first thing to watch for is the rain creeping up the Sierra Madre in central Mexico.

Check.

And rising dewpoints. Albuquerque’s dewpoints shot up four days ago, and have been staying high since.

Check.

Most important, though, is tracking the nights Lissa and I sit in the shelter of our front porch watching the rain splatter our driveway, counting the seconds between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder, and grinning a bit.

First one of those last night. So check. The monsoon approaches.