Phoenix picks up first measurable rainfall in nearly 4 months
By
Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Dec 10, 2020 12:06 PM EST
|
Updated Dec 11, 2020 2:36 PM EST
Experts say there’s little relief in sight for the drought or fire risk in California as the La Niña weather pattern settles in for the winter.
Much of the Southwest has been in the grips of an extreme to exceptional drought, but on Wednesday night, some locations received the first rainfall in months.
A disturbance in the atmosphere that helped contribute to Santa Ana winds in Southern California earlier this week began to move into western Arizona Wednesday night. As that occurred, rain fell.
Phoenix recorded 0.01 of an inch of rain Wednesday just before midnight, marking the first time in 110 days that the city had seen measurable rain. Measurable rain is defined as 0.01 of an inch or more. Therefore, amounts that are a "trace" are not counted.
By Thursday afternoon, the city recorded 0.45 of an inch in total, including the rain from the day before. The National Weather Service warned on Thursday that south-central Arizona, including Phoenix, could experience some mild flooding caused by showers and storms.
So far this year, the city recorded 15 days with measurable rain. The record minimum of days in a year with measurable rain is 18 for the city. Even though 110 days is a long time, it was only the 15th longest dry streak on record for the city. With the precipitation in December, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brian Thompson said it is possible for Phoenix to either tie or break that record to wrap up this year.
The longest dry stretch on record for Phoenix is 160 days, which was set in 1972, making this year come up about a month and a half short for breaking the record, Thompson said.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Although any rain is beneficial, it will do little to put a significant dent in the drought since amounts will be low, with rainfall expected to generally be under an inch. Not only was this past summer dry, but below normal precipitation has been the theme since last summer as well. This has contributed to the vast amount of wildfires in California and surrounding states.
In addition, lightning was observed Wednesday night in parts of Arizona. Any locations that have lightning and little to no rain will have a risk of new fires being ignited.
Other cities in the Southwest have gone even longer without rain. Yuma, Arizona, went 242 days without rain. Just after midnight, that streak was finally snapped with 0.19 of an inch of rain as of 7 a.m. Thursday.
Farther west, rain is not expected to fall.
Bishop, California, has had 237 consecutive days without rain through Wednesday, and that streak will continue to extend.
Las Vegas is also forecast to stay dry, with rain remaining to the east. The city has gone 234 days without rainfall. For perspective, Las Vegas had never gone more than 150 days without measurable rain before the current dry streak, so the record has been broken by almost 100 days. Thompson said the dry streak for Las Vegas will continue to grow, due to a slim chance for any rain in the next week.
According to Thompson, the reason for the impressive dry spell this year is the monsoon season, which came out to be below average.
"A handful of monsoon thunderstorms usually reach Las Vegas over the course of the season from July to September," Thompson said. "While a few raindrops reached them this season, there was never enough to get measurable rain (0.01" or more). So, the typical stretch of dry weather from May into early July extended much, much longer than normal this year."
Rain continued Thursday before the system moved eastward. It appears that parts of Utah and Colorado may receive some snow Saturday night, but areas farther south will stay dry.
"It looks like the main storm track through much of the month will run through the Pacific Northwest, which will offer few opportunities for rain in the Desert Southwest," he said.
The Pacific Northwest is expected to have a parade of storms that will deliver rain and snow. Any areas that receive rain in the Southwest will begin a new streak of dry days following any rain through the end of the week, with no precipitation in the forecast next week. Even where rain does fall, it will be a mere drop in the bucket for locations that need several inches of rainfall. In other cities, the current dry streak will simply continue.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Weather Forecasts
Phoenix picks up first measurable rainfall in nearly 4 months
By Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Dec 10, 2020 12:06 PM EST | Updated Dec 11, 2020 2:36 PM EST
Experts say there’s little relief in sight for the drought or fire risk in California as the La Niña weather pattern settles in for the winter.
Much of the Southwest has been in the grips of an extreme to exceptional drought, but on Wednesday night, some locations received the first rainfall in months.
A disturbance in the atmosphere that helped contribute to Santa Ana winds in Southern California earlier this week began to move into western Arizona Wednesday night. As that occurred, rain fell.
Phoenix recorded 0.01 of an inch of rain Wednesday just before midnight, marking the first time in 110 days that the city had seen measurable rain. Measurable rain is defined as 0.01 of an inch or more. Therefore, amounts that are a "trace" are not counted.
By Thursday afternoon, the city recorded 0.45 of an inch in total, including the rain from the day before. The National Weather Service warned on Thursday that south-central Arizona, including Phoenix, could experience some mild flooding caused by showers and storms.
So far this year, the city recorded 15 days with measurable rain. The record minimum of days in a year with measurable rain is 18 for the city. Even though 110 days is a long time, it was only the 15th longest dry streak on record for the city. With the precipitation in December, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brian Thompson said it is possible for Phoenix to either tie or break that record to wrap up this year.
The longest dry stretch on record for Phoenix is 160 days, which was set in 1972, making this year come up about a month and a half short for breaking the record, Thompson said.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Although any rain is beneficial, it will do little to put a significant dent in the drought since amounts will be low, with rainfall expected to generally be under an inch. Not only was this past summer dry, but below normal precipitation has been the theme since last summer as well. This has contributed to the vast amount of wildfires in California and surrounding states.
In addition, lightning was observed Wednesday night in parts of Arizona. Any locations that have lightning and little to no rain will have a risk of new fires being ignited.
Other cities in the Southwest have gone even longer without rain. Yuma, Arizona, went 242 days without rain. Just after midnight, that streak was finally snapped with 0.19 of an inch of rain as of 7 a.m. Thursday.
Farther west, rain is not expected to fall.
Bishop, California, has had 237 consecutive days without rain through Wednesday, and that streak will continue to extend.
Las Vegas is also forecast to stay dry, with rain remaining to the east. The city has gone 234 days without rainfall. For perspective, Las Vegas had never gone more than 150 days without measurable rain before the current dry streak, so the record has been broken by almost 100 days. Thompson said the dry streak for Las Vegas will continue to grow, due to a slim chance for any rain in the next week.
According to Thompson, the reason for the impressive dry spell this year is the monsoon season, which came out to be below average.
"A handful of monsoon thunderstorms usually reach Las Vegas over the course of the season from July to September," Thompson said. "While a few raindrops reached them this season, there was never enough to get measurable rain (0.01" or more). So, the typical stretch of dry weather from May into early July extended much, much longer than normal this year."
Rain continued Thursday before the system moved eastward. It appears that parts of Utah and Colorado may receive some snow Saturday night, but areas farther south will stay dry.
"It looks like the main storm track through much of the month will run through the Pacific Northwest, which will offer few opportunities for rain in the Desert Southwest," he said.
The Pacific Northwest is expected to have a parade of storms that will deliver rain and snow. Any areas that receive rain in the Southwest will begin a new streak of dry days following any rain through the end of the week, with no precipitation in the forecast next week. Even where rain does fall, it will be a mere drop in the bucket for locations that need several inches of rainfall. In other cities, the current dry streak will simply continue.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo