Southern Monsoons

If there’s one thing that people know about the Southeastern US is that it’s hot. If a person happens to know one other thing about the south is that it’s humid. Putting these two things together, one can imagine that summertime in the Deep South can lead to some near tropical conditions. Conditions that cause rising water vapor to well into storm clouds by the afternoon creating a seasonal monsoon of sorts. Certainly not as drastic as the monsoons of Africa, but still here in the Southeast I would be willing to put money on the line that it’s raining somewhere on any given afternoon during the months of June through August.

Isolated and intense rain showers are a characteristic of Southeastern summers. It can often rain all day and you never get wet.

This time of year is one that most people detest in the South. They hole up in their air-conditioned houses, drive their air-conditioned cars to their air-conditioned offices and repeat. If you live in a large city, the heat is magnified by reflective concrete and absorb by black asphalt to create an oven making a reprieve from the outside sun necessary. As a result, the summertime weather begins to create a separation from the outside world, where spending time away from a climate-controlled environment is synonymous with discomfort.

For a long time I fell into this trap, spending my summers rotting in bed, feeling constantly guilty for wasting the time of year when I have the most free time to spend outside. I agreed with the sentiments of the humidity being intolerable, that being drenched in sweat was akin to misery.

Then last summer I had no choice. The data that I needed to collect for my master’s thesis could only be collected during the summer and only be collected in Southern Alabama. Oh, and also we didn’t have the money for air-conditioned living arrangements, so I camped. For three months, I busted my ass, climbing up and repelling down steep slopes measuring habitat requirements for the federally protected Red Hills Salamander (Phaeognathus hubrichti). I would sweat through my shirt, hiking through the dense, sticky air to the point that the humidity began to feel like a second layer of skin. Then, when I finished for the day I would shower in the campground bathhouse and crawl into my tent to fall soundly asleep.

The steep mesic slopes that Red Hills Salamander (Phaeognathus hubrichti) call home often need rappel gear in order to be surveyed.

The Red Hills Salamander (Phaeognathus hubrichti) is one of the most unique salamanders native to the United States, inhabiting self-constructed burrows in the walls of these steep ravines.

By the end of that summer, this second layer of humidity began to feel more protective than anything. It might sound crazy, but I didn’t mind being damp. I was at home with the heat and it allowed me to enjoy the South in a new way. It made me have a new appreciation for the South during this time of year.

Come this summer and I am excited for the monsoons. I love the cloudscapes of summer as they build over the course of the day, culminating in isolated rainstorms in the distance. I look forward to the plants that bloom in the lazy dog days of summer. These plants have become another marvelous group of organisms for me to track down and see when the herps have hidden themselves from the heat. Overall, embracing the monsoon season of the South has led me to have a deeper connection to the land. It has opened a whole new season for observations that others would miss because of AC.

Panhandle Lilies (Lilium iridollae) are endemic to Southern Alabama and Western Florida in bog adjacent habitat. They and many other unique plants bloom in the peak of summer.

I’d like to think of myself as a proud Southerner. Proud of the culture and food, but even more so proud of the land. I think a true Southerner must have a deep abiding love of the land and all that inhabit it. This means to love the land in all seasons, not just the ones that you find comfortable. So, I leave you with this challenge, if you consider yourself a true Southerner, try opening up to the heat and humidity. However, the bugs can fuck off.