Clouds start to build in the early afternoon and the air becomes sweet with the promise of rain. The monsoon season is ramping up across the southwestern United States.

Las Cruces, in southwestern New Mexico, blends mountain and desert scenery with Mexican, Native American and Western culture.

Forecasters say it has been a wet start to this year’s monsoon season, which officially began June 15 and runs through the end of September. Parts of New Mexico and West Texas have been doused ...

As the monsoon cranks up in the southwestern U.S., a rainstorm moves across the plains near Rio Rancho, New Mexico, on July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan) As the monsoon cranks up in the ...