There's probably a technical way to determine if/when
monsoon season has officially started, but I'm going to go
rouge and announce that it has started here in NE AZ.
We've had thunderstorms the past couple days since we got
back, and they're in the forecast for the next 10 days.
Thankfully the power grid is solid around here (we only
get power blips from time to time, no matter how bad the
weather gets. Knock on wood...)

Personally, I love the stormy weather. We get a lot of
sun around here, so any day with clouds is a nice break
from the norm.

On a sadder note, a few people were killed while swimming
about 2 hours west of here (near Payson, AZ.) They got
caught in a flash flood. They either weren't from around
here, or they were drunk, because people here know that
even if it's not raining where you are, flash floods can
happen in seconds if there is a storm in the region. We
were visiting friends in Payson once, their house is in
an area that requires you to pass through 2 washes. On the
way in everything was fine, there was no rain while we were
there, at least in Payson, but on the way out both the
washes were raging rivers (they're normally completely dry)
We had to hang out in our car for an hour for the water
to calm down enough to drive through (which was still a
really stupid move...)