Around day four, the forecast gets spicy. Humidity creeps in like an uninvited guest. Yuma sits near the Colorado River, and that water plus extreme heat equals thunderstorms. Look for a 10% to 20% chance of rain each afternoon.
Don’t get excited. “Rain” in Yuma often means dust storms first. You’ll see a wall of brown rolling in. Then, maybe, a few angry drops that evaporate before hitting the ground. It’s nature’s way of making a dramatic entrance and then forgetting its lines.
If you do get a real downpour, the desert smells like creosote. It’s a rich, earthy scent that locals call the smell of money. It’s one of the world’s most unexpected pleasures.