July 2021 Southwest Climate Podcast - Early Monsoon Stats - All Timer or Too Soon to Tell?

In the (mid/late) July edition of the CLIMAS Southwest Climate Podcast, Mike Crimmins and Zack Guido are back at it, given all that happened with the monsoon since early July.  First, they dive into monsoon conditions around the region, to put them into climatological perspective, while discussing some of the defining characteristics of the monsoon. Next they grapple with the question: Is this shaping up to be an all-timer for July, given all the rain that's already fallen (and what is in the forecast for the rest of July)?  The answer is complicated (tune in to hear where they land on this).  Finally, they look a bit at the forecasts and outlooks for the upcoming weeks and months and remind us about the monsoon fantasy game that we are running this monsoon. A reminder from the Southwest Monsoon Fantasy Forecasts game: We pose this question to you: will August be wet, dry, or in between at stations around the Southwest? So far, the monsoon has been wet in many places, with an active monsoon pattern over the next few days likely to add more to the totals. This is our final reminder: you will only be able to make your August forecasts up until 11:59 pm tomorrow night, Friday (Jul 23). We then lock the forecasts so that you can't use the 7-day weather forecast to inform your estimates.  Submit your August Guesses: https://monsoonfantasy.arizona.edu/home