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19th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Purple rain in the Desert

I fortunately live 25 minutes from the Tonto National Forest boundry in Arizona. The Chamber of Commerce here boast of 300 days of sunshine a year. They may sound great if you're from back east and it's January. However for a landscape photographer it means waiting for months sometimes for any kind of weather to make its way here. Were delighted when the Weather Service announces a 20% chance of rain. What you never do is focus in on the fact there's a 80% chance it won't rain. Point being when any kind of weather comes in you wait with bated breath to determine when and where that storm may pop up. The problem with any kind of storm here is that Arizona is 113,998 square miles of varied terrain and elevation. A lot of our storms are isolated so you keep posted to any and all weather services for any information. On this day I was more than lucky, I was spectacularly lucky. Let it rain.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 08.2021
Date Uploaded: 11.2021
Photo Location: Arizona, United States of America
Copyright: © Robert Hergenrather