PALM SPRINGS – Hazy, hot and humid weather is overtaking the desert which is causing major storms.

A wind storm in Banning uprooted a number of massive trees this weekend. On Monday, a thick haze made the mountains were barely visible.

“Driving around and looking to see if it’s a dust storm but there was no dust in the air, was pretty crazy,” Jeff Osborne, a resident of Palm Desert, said.

Most long-term residents aren’t used to seeing this kind of weather in the Coachella Valley. Mike Everett, KMIR’s chief meteorologist, said it’s to be expected.

“It’s natural. This isn’t a freak occurrence,” Everett said. “The monsoonal flow is something that we expect, but we’re getting it sooner and we’re getting a pretty heavy dose of it right off the bat.”

Jeff Osborne’s family said they went to downtown Palm Springs in the morning to enjoy the cooler monsoon weather before it turned hot again.

As the sun came out, some landscapers took their lunch break under a tree after working in the humidity.

“During the day you kind of focus on work and don’t feel it too much because you’re too busy thinking about work,” Carlos Vega, a landscaper, said. “However, when you do take a lunch break or five minute break, it definitely feels very, very humid, thick, and not pleasant.”

Osborne said he’s ready for the mugginess to go away.

“I want Palm Springs back. Florida can stay on the east coast. I love you Florida, but the humidity can leave,” he said.

Are monsoons more common now?

“The monsoon and the humidity is something that actually has been a new-ish development in about the last 30 years or so and seems to be increasing,” Everett said.

Will monsoons stick around?

“Unfortunately, yes. The forecast I’ve been looking at shows humidity and dew points being very high this week and the flow will continue to come in from the southeast,” Everett said.

Will the air clear up?

“Yes. As that air starts to clear up over the next 48 hours, then the possibilities of severe thunderstorms becomes higher. So it’s kind of a balance, the air quality gets better but the severe storm possibility gets higher as well,” Everett said.

For an updated forecast, go to KMIR Weather’s website.

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