Monsoon season is in full swing in New Mexico — but where did the word monsoon originate?

Editor’s note: The Journal continues “What’s in a Name?,” a once a month column that gives a short history of how places in New Mexico got their names.

Expansive vistas make New Mexico one of the most beautiful places in the United States.

Visit a place with an abundance of trees or urban spaces packed with skyscrapers, and it becomes apparent how unique it is to drive down a road or stand on a hill and see for miles. Watching a storm rolling in is one of the most awe-inspiring benefits of our vast open space.

However, the majority of the year in much of New Mexico there are simply no storms. But like anywhere else on the planet, we need precipitation to thrive. Many of us anxiously await the one season expected to bring a consistent stream of moisture — the monsoons.

The term monsoon stems from the Arabic words mausim or mawism, which means season, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service. The Arabic word refers to the time ships could safely depart from port and was known as mawasim al-asfar or sailing season.

That word was the genesis for the Portuguese word moncao and the Dutch word moesson, both of which probably influenced creation of today’s English alliteration. The term monsoon was first used in British India to describe the phenomenon of annual shifting wind patterns that affected precipitation.

For centuries, traders off the Arabian and Indian coast in the Arabian Sea recognized that dry northeast winds they experienced during the winter turned southwest in the summer months. These seasonal shifts in wind patterns cause distinct wet and dry seasons. The southwest winds bring with them beneficial but sometimes heavy and torrential rains that can last for months.

The Indian monsoon is considered the strongest and largest in the world. The country is currently dealing with the havoc brought by the monsoons, including flooding, landslides and even deaths.

The LEMA project explores the life of British Army officer Lachlan Macquarie, who was stationed in India for two years starting in 1788. Lachlan’s letters and journals during that time reflect the treacherous and dangerous sailing conditions the monsoons could bring, heightening awareness of it.

The existence of the system dictated daily life by restraining travel and the receipt of goods. It was also an indicator of how long Europeans could last in the region, according to the LEMA project.

“The phrase ‘two monsoons’ was a vernacular expression highlighting the real health dangers posed for Europeans living in the subcontinent — they often died within two monsoons of their arrival,” the project said.

On March 16, 1749, Scotland’s The Caledonian Mercury newspaper printed a military report that mentions the danger of the approaching monsoon season. An April 25, 1761, article in The Ipswich Journal printed a letter from a passenger aboard a ship near the coast of India. He described the “Time of the Monsoons” as a “thing so dangerous that ships seldom attempt it.”

New Mexico monsoons tell a different story.

In the Land of Enchantment, monsoon season signifies the shift from dry to less dry. Or in more relatable terms, the period we say 10 Hail Marys daily in hopes that, at some point, moisture will fall from the sky. Perhaps we will even get lucky and it will fall on consecutive days. Maybe just enough to sufficiently water your bushes, grass and trees — for that day.

The National Weather Service has designated June 15 to Sept. 30 as New Mexico’s official monsoon season. The state is part of the North American Monsoon System. It draws moisture from the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, although there is debate about which is the bigger source.

The presence of monsoons in our arid climate was not recognized until well after the Asian system was studied. Scientists first took note of the Southwest’s rain patterns in the early 20th century, according to the NOAA.

The phenomenon has at times also been called the Mexican Monsoon or the Arizona Monsoon. It was research over the past century that shifted the informal recognition of weather that was monsoonal in nature to formally identifying a system that affects much of the Southwestern part of the United States as well as northwestern Mexico, where its influence is greatest.

New Mexico and Arizona receive more than 50% of their average annual precipitation from July to September, and in northwestern Mexico it is 75% of its annual rainfall, the NOAA said on its website climate.gov.

The wettest day on record in Albuquerque was on Sept. 28, 1893, when the city saw 2.08 inches of rainfall, according to the NWS. The city’s most rainy monsoon season was in 2006 when 9.42 inches fell. Statewide, the most rain to fall during the monsoon season came in 1941 when New Mexico saw 12.53 inches of rain.

Endeavors such as the South-West Monsoon Project (SWAMP, 1993) and the international North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME, 2004) field study have provided scientists and communities with a plethora of observational data, but no secret method for predicting how much rain we will see in a given season.

It’s been a pleasure: I have some personal news. This will be my last “What’s in a Name?” piece with the Albuquerque Journal. My inaugural column was about Albuquerque, and I’m so grateful for the great stories and ideas readers have shared with me since I began this endeavor in September 2019. I’ve always been fascinated by the everyday lives of ordinary people who sometimes do extraordinary things that resonate for generations to come. Thank you for indulging this amateur historian for the past six years.

Curious about how a town, street or building got its name? Email features@abqjournal.com as the Journal continues the monthly journey in “What’s in a Name?”

Monsoon season is in full swing in New Mexico — but where did the word monsoon originate?