just came back from te school disco and te school gym has NO air-condition. What a wild night and you think Tokyo is the place that never sleeps. Well due to the conservation of energy there is no one out on the street and it's so dark.

Hi Guys,You should really come to Scandinavian. We get these loooooong and beautifull summer nights. Sunrise at 4am and sunset at 10pm. with a long twillight periode. Today it's been about 20C (68F) with some rain and some sunshine. Really good. regards,

I used to love the monsoon season. Every day would start off clear and super hot, but then around 3pm the storms would start to roll in for a nice storm. Its been 11 years since I lived in AZ, but I can still remember that smell of the desert in the summer after it rained. To this day I still love that smell and just thinking of it, I can almost smell it.Sean Campbell

I grew up in Arizona, and know just what you mean. The smell the Sonoran Desert vegetation gives off when it gets wet is one of the most delightful fragrances I can think of. I read an article about that very subject once - the smell comes from volatile substances called "terpenes" which are released by many varieties of desert plants that have resinous coatings on their leaves and stems to cope with the hot dry conditions. Wish they could bottle that odor and sell it.A far cry from the way the air smells here in the northeastern U.S. after a rainstorm - a smell kind of like swamp water - not pleasant at all.Jim Barrett

We are posted with the Canadian Forces in northern Canada.The summers aren't bad. It's the winters here that are terrible. The ground is white no later than September, and this year we got snow as late as the beginning of June.The months of late November, December, and most of January, it is -40 for the high...-60 is not uncommon for the low. At those temps it doesn't matter if it's C or F. They are both pretty much the same.I'll gladly give you our -60 in the winter in exchange for your 110 degrees in the summer!! Anytime!

Hi Guys,You should really come to Scandinavian. We get these loooooong and beautifull summer nights. Sunrise at 4am and sunset at 10pm. with a long twillight periode. Today it's been about 20C (68F) with some rain and some sunshine. Really good. regards,

There is no need for bragging..... :)

My friend lived in Tucson a while back and he said that they would turn their hot water heater off in the summer and just use what comes out of the cold faucet... DOH

Yep haha, and Tucson's quite a bit cooler than Phoenix too because it's about 1500 feet higher in elevation.

I grew up in Arizona, and know just what you mean. The smell the Sonoran Desert vegetation gives off when it gets wet is one of the most delightful fragrances I can think of. I read an article about that very subject once - the smell comes from volatile substances called "terpenes" which are released by many varieties of desert plants that have resinous coatings on their leaves and stems to cope with the hot dry conditions. Wish they could bottle that odor and sell it.A far cry from the way the air smells here in the northeastern U.S. after a rainstorm - a smell kind of like swamp water - not pleasant at all.Jim Barrett

Monsoon is absolutely my favorite time of year here despite the heat - some of the coolest CB buildup and lightning displays you'll ever see. I just wish Phoenix got more of it - most of the storms are south of us here... Casa Grande, Tucson etc and then up on the rim to the north where the elevation is way higher. We still get a few pretty good ones every year though - I took this last year from the front yard:

I'm sitting about 1 mile north of the Equator in Kenya at 6,500ft above sea level and have been living in a tent for the past 2 months. Its bloody hot and dusty during the day until late afternoon. Then it rains and rains and rains. Nights are freezing and I'm using a heavyweight sleeping bag and goretex bivi bag to keep warm. Having just spent 2 years in Borneo in high temps and very high humidity before coming out here , I'm being really pathetic and feeling the cold! :( 5 weeks left, then back to Germany for some normality!

I grew up in Arizona, and know just what you mean. The smell the Sonoran Desert vegetation gives off when it gets wet is one of the most delightful fragrances I can think of. I read an article about that very subject once - the smell comes from volatile substances called "terpenes" which are released by many varieties of desert plants that have resinous coatings on their leaves and stems to cope with the hot dry conditions. Wish they could bottle that odor and sell it.A far cry from the way the air smells here in the northeastern U.S. after a rainstorm - a smell kind of like swamp water - not pleasant at all.Jim Barrett

That's interesting to know about the "terpense". I had never heard of that before, but it makes sense. I do agree that I wish their was a way they could bottle it and sell it as an air freshener. On the subject of the smells, I remember a certain smell you would get in the spring time as well near sunset when it would cool off. I think it might be jasmine but whatever it is smelled great. I used to love to open all the windows at sunset and leave the open during the night to get that smell in the house. It's so funny that after living somewhere for a long time, something as simple as a smell can get stuck in your head, like the smell of the desert after the rain. Living in Dallas we dont get those same smells, but every now and then when it rains we get a smell in the air that is very similar to a rainy day in southern Cal. My girlfriend always laughs when I go outside during a storm and come back in and tell her it smell like SoCal, lol.BTW, where did you grow up in AZ? I am originally from Tucson and lived there for about 25 years, then 3 years in the high desert of California, and now in Dallas.

Monsoon is absolutely my favorite time of year here despite the heat - some of the coolest CB buildup and lightning displays you'll ever see. I just wish Phoenix got more of it - most of the storms are south of us here... Casa Grande, Tucson etc and then up on the rim to the north where the elevation is way higher. We still get a few pretty good ones every year though - I took this last year from the front yard:

It was one of my favs also for the reasons you mentioned. The lightening storms were incredible during that time of the year, altough they could be scary. A few times I got caught out in a storm bike riding near the Sabino Canyon area of North Tucson and witnessed a few lightening strikes very close to me. Not a great thing to have happen when you have no place to hide out while the storm passes. I know a lot of golfers have been struck from lightning during that time of year as well.That's a great pic, did you take it?Sean Campbell

BTW, where did you grow up in AZ? I am originally from Tucson and lived there for about 25 years, then 3 years in the high desert of California, and now in Dallas.

Lived in Tucson from 1995 to 2007. Went to Salpointe High School and have a degree from U of A.

That's a great pic, did you take it?

Yeah, I did - got extremely luck with it, just happened to press the shutter at the right time, it wasn't a long or bulb exposure.

I need to come to AZ one year to witness the CB's, I'm sorry to say we're lucky if we get one or two storms a year in my part of NZ.

I need to come to AZ one year to witness the CB's, I'm sorry to say we're lucky if we get one or two storms a year in my part of NZ.

I mean if you want to see the REALLY crazy CB, you go to the plains/midwest area around April-June. Those are the huge supercells with tornadoes and stuff - we don't get anything like that in Arizona, they're much more localized - usually just a lot of wind and rain but it's really fast moving and small in area. It's not unusual here during monsoon to talk to someone who lives a couple miles away who got a storm but I didn't see a drop of it.

You guys need to come visit England your Guarrented at least 3 seasons of weather in one day!!

Yep...and most of them are winter! :( In Johannesburg we could get some pretty big cells building up in the afternoons - no tornados but CB's getting up towards 60 000 ft or so on occasion.

Well here in the north of England we are at 16degreesC and it sucks! Our summers rarely hit over 22C for any lenght of time, shame really. I hate the UK weather.

Originally from Dallas and was just there last week. It was 105F and I was stuck in traffic on 820. I am glad to be back at my semi-new home near glacier park Montana. 60f right now.;)

BTW, where did you grow up in AZ? I am originally from Tucson and lived there for about 25 years, then 3 years in the high desert of California, and now in Dallas.Sean Campbell

I lived all over the Southwest. I was born in Tucson, then later moved up the road towards Marana. Later we moved to Albuquerque, then Las Vegas (NV). My Dad was in the Air Force, and had assignments at Davis-Monthan, Kirtland and Nellis AFBs. When he retired, we moved back to his original hometown of San Diego. I entered the A.F. myself after high school, and also wound up in the high desert for three years in Victorville at George AFB (since deactivated)My career brought me to New York state many years ago, but when I eventually retire, I plan to relocate back to Arizona. Looking forward to the day when I can once again enjoy the summer monsoon and "the smell" :( Jim Barrett