Arizona monsoon season: Here’s what to know
Arizona’s monsoon begins in June and can bring not only dangerous winds, dust and rain but also relief from the blistering desert heat.
The Republic
- Temperatures will soar past 110 degrees as August arrives in Phoenix.
- After a brief chance of showers, there’s no rain in the forecast through the middle of next week.
- High temperatures will be 6-8 degrees above normal almost every day through the weekend.
Another heat wave is settling across Phoenix, with temperatures expected to climb as high as 113 degrees over the next few days, above normal for August.
The National Weather Service in Phoenix has issued an extreme heat warning for south-central Arizona through Aug. 2.
“Over the next couple of days, we’re going to be looking at temperatures around 110, potentially up to around 113 degrees, which is above average,” said Ryan Worley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix. “That will begin late tomorrow morning and last through Saturday.”
The normal temperature for Phoenix in early August is 106 degrees.
Temperatures are forecast to remain over 110 degrees through the weekend, with another push upward by the middle of next week.
Metro Phoenix has remained mostly dry this monsoon season, and that trend isn’t changing anytime soon.
“Today might be our best chance in the next several days for rain, but chances for Phoenix are still around 10% or less,” Worley said. “Then much drier air is going to be moving in and shut down any further chances through the next several days.”
He said the region hasn’t been able to lock in the monsoonal pattern needed to consistently pull moisture into the area. Occasional bursts of moisture have brought 0.16 of an inch of rain at Sky Harbor International Airport so far this monsoon, but Phoenix has missed the dramatic showers the season is known for.
“It’s been a push and pull so far this season where we get these short periods of moist air and then dry air comes and pushes all that away,” Worley said.
Minimum humidity levels around 10% this week in Phoenix are a reflection of just how dry conditions will be. Much of the state is seeing drier air than normal, especially in northern Arizona where the Dragon Bravo fire continues to burn in what officials call historically dry humidity levels.
Windy conditions combined with consistently low humidity levels have reduced the fire’s containment to 9%, as firefighters continue to fight the flames and the monsoon remains largely absent.
Hayleigh Evans writes about extreme weather and related topics for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email her with story tips at hayleigh.evans@arizonarepublic.com.
