# Desert Dopers: 'Monsoon season' **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desert-dopers-monsoon-season/838706 "2019-08-15T18:18:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desert-dopers-monsoon-season/838706/21 "2019-08-16T18:57:36Z")
> [@rock\_party](#): > > New Mexico here and monsoon season is upon us! I had a smallish swamp cooler that was ok for late May, June, and the first half of July, but couldn’t keep up later in summer once the humidity gets above 35%. Our monsoon season brings higher humidity but more cloud cover (which helps). This year I put in a big deluxe swamp cooler and it’s been heaven!! I LURVES swamp coolers!! You’re lucky. They really don’t work here in the summer in Phoenix. On their best days they can drop the temp 20-25 degrees. When it is 120 that’s still coming out at 95. Increase the humidity and the efficiency drops, so you’re getting 95 degree air at 70% humidity. ugh. But come late Sept/Oct we’ll be back on the swamper. ---
**Author:** ![rock\_party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@rock\_party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rock_party)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desert-dopers-monsoon-season/838706/22 "2019-08-16T19:17:26Z")
I think we have less humidity here and definitely lower temps than Phoenix. I also read somewhere that higher altitude improves swamp cooler performance. On low humidity days my new swamp cooler gets it down 25-30 degrees. I left it on overnight the other night and woke up at 4am and it was 58 and cold as ice in the house. I won’t do that again! ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desert-dopers-monsoon-season/838706/23 "2019-08-17T00:37:39Z")
The Monsoon is why I despise swamp coolers so much. That and cottonwoods. Phoenix 2 years, 4 Corners 7 years. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2019, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desert-dopers-monsoon-season/838706/24 "2019-08-17T03:39:53Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You’re lucky. They really don’t work here in the summer in Phoenix. On their best days they can drop the temp 20-25 degrees. When it is 120 that’s still coming out at 95. > [@rock\_party](#): > > On low humidity days my new swamp cooler gets it down 25-30 degrees. I left it on overnight the other night and woke up at 4am and it was 58 and cold as ice in the house. I won’t do that again! We turned the swamp cooler on first thing in the morning. The house would get down to 60 or less. The swamp cooler would keep the house cool the rest of the day. (Obviously, it wouldn’t keep it at 60.) If we waited to turn it on, it couldn’t cool the house down as well. And of course, it did very little during monsoon season. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desert-dopers-monsoon-season/838706/25 "2019-08-17T19:32:13Z")
Not a current desert dweller, but lived in Phoenix for about 3 years, I definitely know about monsoon season and this is definitely that time of year. I preferred the 120 F days of June over the cooler but more humid air in August. Still have no desire to ever see the place again. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desert-dopers-monsoon-season/838706/26 "2019-08-18T21:12:39Z")
Shitty monsoon so far in Phoenix. All the humidity, no cooling rains & ozone. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desert-dopers-monsoon-season/838706/27 "2019-08-18T23:12:49Z")
Became intimately acquainted with it during my tour in Vietnam. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/desert-dopers-monsoon-season/838706.md?page=1)