monsoon

[skinem]

mon·soon

Pronunciation: \män-ˈsün, ˈmän-ˌ\
Function: noun
Etymology: obsolete Dutch monssoen, from Portuguese monção, from Arabic mawsim time, season
Date: 1584
1 : a periodic wind especially in the Indian Ocean and southern Asia
2 : the season of the southwest monsoon in India and adjacent areas that is characterized by very heavy rainfall
3 : rainfall that is associated with the monsoon

Interesting eymology--(to me).

What prompted this was a reference I heard to the "monsoon season" in the American southwest. I used to live in New Mexico and never saw any thing that I associated with a monsoon, i.e. heavy rain. But, alas, I was obviously not aware of it referring really to a wind. I knew the monsoon season in Asia was caused by the winds shift, but not that it referred to the wind itself.
Reminds me of the chinooks of the Pacific Northwest...

[sluggo]

I saw that too and I inferred that they were talking about the effect of the monsoon season in the Pacific, west of Mexico and how it affects AZ and NM, not that it would be known by that name in that area after its overland trek.

Was that on the Weather Channel? You know how they seem to believe all weather ceases to exist at the borders- mayhap another case of meteorological xenophobia.

Or is there a single word for that?