Editing Monsoon (section)

=== North America ===
{{main|North American monsoon|United States rainfall climatology}}
[[File:Incoming monsoon clouds over Arizona.jpg|thumb|Incoming monsoon clouds over [[Phoenix, Arizona]]]]
[[File:LightningCNP.ogg|thumb|Three-second video of a lightning strike within a thunderstorm over Island in the Sky, [[Canyonlands National Park]]]]

The '''North American monsoon''' ('''NAM''') occurs from late June or early July into September, originating over Mexico and spreading into the southwest United States by mid-July. It affects Mexico along the [[Sierra Madre Occidental]] as well as [[Arizona]], [[New Mexico]], [[Nevada]], [[Utah]], [[Colorado]], [[West Texas]] and [[California]]. It pushes as far west as the [[Peninsular Ranges]] and [[Transverse Ranges]] of Southern California, but rarely reaches the coastal strip (a wall of desert thunderstorms only a half-hour's drive away is a common summer sight from the sunny skies along the coast during the monsoon). The North American monsoon is known to many as the ''Summer'', ''Southwest'', ''Mexican'' or ''Arizona'' monsoon.<ref>[[Arizona State University]] Department of Geography. [http://geography.asu.edu/aztc/monsoon.html Basics of Arizona Monsoon.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531091848/http://geography.asu.edu/aztc/monsoon.html |date=2009-05-31 }} Retrieved on 2008-02-29.</ref><ref>New Mexico Tech. [http://www.ees.nmt.edu/vivoni/hydromet/lectures/Lecture17.pdf Lecture 17:&nbsp;1. North American Monsoon System.] Retrieved on 2008-02-29. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030193504/http://www.ees.nmt.edu/vivoni/hydromet/lectures/Lecture17.pdf |date=October 30, 2008 }}</ref> It is also sometimes called the ''Desert monsoon'' as a large part of the affected area are the [[Mojave Desert|Mojave]] and [[Sonoran Desert|Sonoran desert]]s. However, it is controversial whether the [[North American Monsoon|North]] and South American weather patterns with incomplete wind reversal should be counted as true monsoons.<ref name=Rohli>{{cite book |last1=Rohli |first1=Robert V. |last2=Vega |first2=Anthony J. |year=2011 |title=Climatology |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning |page=187 |isbn=978-0763791018 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WhtZKBCv7NMC&pg=PA187 |access-date=2011-07-23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619061156/http://books.google.com/books?id=WhtZKBCv7NMC&pg=PA187 |archive-date=2013-06-19|quote=''Although the North American monsoon region experiences pronounced precipitation seasonally, it differs from a true monsoon, which is characterized by  a distinct seasonal reversal of prevailing surface winds. No such situation occurs in [North America]''}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ocp.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/glodech/10Monsoon.html|title=The Future of the North American Monsoon|first1=Ben|last1=Cook|first2=Richard|last2=Seager}}</ref>