TUCSON, Ariz. -- The summer monsoon has officially arrived in Arizona and there are signs it could arrive early in Colorado. It usually doesn't come, if at all, until mid-July.

With most of the state in a precipitation deficit, the rain couldn't come soon enough.

But meteorologist Craig Ellis said the weather pattern that marks the monsoon is in place, regardless of the numbers. What matters are the direction and pattern of midlevel winds, those above the surface to about 20,000 feet. They generally come from the south and east during monsoon season and draw tropical moisture into the region from Mexico.

The moisture stream then continues northeastward into Colorado.

Click here to watch a satellite loop of the clouds streaming toward Colorado from Arizona.