The North American monsoon: what it is and how it impacts our weather

For the first time in just under two months, all parts of Michiana are drought free.

Many in the area are still feeling the effects of abnormally dry conditions, but as of the most recent U.S. drought monitor report the drought is over.

At the beginning of the month, almost 90% of Michiana was in some form of drought.

Now, 60% are feeling abnormally dry, an improvement from drought.

July ended up being the second wettest July on record in south bend history, dropping almost eight inches of total rainfall in the span of a month, bringing our yearly rainfall almost three inches above the average.

The North American monsoon is a diurnal process most dominant in the late summer months into the early fall.

A high-pressure system develops over the American southwest, causing high temperatures and absorbing excess moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into the system's flow.

The excess heat and high moisture content triggers showers and storms over New Mexico, Arizona, and portions of other states that mitigate drought conditions in those regions.

However, Michiana rarely benefits from the North American monsoon. 

All of the moisture and heating is used after the airmass arrives over land from onshore flow near the Baja peninsula and in New Mexico and Arizona. 

Clockwise flow pushes the air further east over the Great Plains, and it is cooled and dried out without a sustained water source.

The cooler, drier air inhibits rising motion and instability, enhancing the effect of the drought within Michiana.