Monsoon moisture to dwindle across the southwestern US
By
Renee Duff, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jul 9, 2021 9:40 AM EDT
Parts of the drought-stricken Desert Southwest have experienced a robust start to the North American monsoon, but AccuWeather meteorologists say the widespread stormy weather may begin to diminish, at least temporarily, later this week.
This annual event is the change in wind direction from the prevalent westerly breezes most of the year to more of a south to southeast direction during the summer months. This flow of air brings moisture up from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California.
The monsoon season officially started on June 15 across the southwestern United States, and several cities are outpacing their average precipitation this early in the wet season.
Phoenix, for example, has received 0.43 of an inch of rain since June 15, which is 252% of their average of 0.17 of an inch for the time frame. Farther south and east, Tucson, Arizona, has picked up 0.73 of an inch of rain, compared to the average of 0.46 of an inch. Albuquerque, New Mexico, is another area that has received a surplus of rainfall since the start of the monsoon, picking up nearly an inch.
Meanwhile, El Paso, Texas, has picked up a whopping 4.67 inches of rain since mid-June compared to an average of 0.96 of an inch for the period.
However, the region as a whole needs a lot more rain to fall to cut into the widespread extreme and exceptional drought conditions. And at least in the short term, forecasters say that the needed rainfall will be diminishing across the area.
While the monsoon season has been off to a good start with fairly widespread shower and thunderstorm activity, rainfall in the Desert Southwest will diminish somewhat beyond midweek, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys.
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An area of high pressure tens of thousands of feet high in the atmosphere is expected to build over Arizona and the rest of the interior West, which will act to suppress monsoon activity southward into Mexico.
Through Wednesday, downpours largely shifted out of Arizona and focused over Colorado and New Mexico.
By Friday, however, drier air will move back in and put a lid on thunderstorm formation.
Stray afternoon thunderstorms may continue to bubble up over the highest peaks in the Four Corners states late this week, but precipitation will not be nearly as widespread or intense as prior days.
"As the rainfall chances diminish, temperatures will run higher, increasing cooling demands across the Southwest," Roys said.
Monsoon moisture may again increase across the region as early as next week.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather Forecasts
Monsoon moisture to dwindle across the southwestern US
By Renee Duff, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jul 9, 2021 9:40 AM EDT
Parts of the drought-stricken Desert Southwest have experienced a robust start to the North American monsoon, but AccuWeather meteorologists say the widespread stormy weather may begin to diminish, at least temporarily, later this week.
This annual event is the change in wind direction from the prevalent westerly breezes most of the year to more of a south to southeast direction during the summer months. This flow of air brings moisture up from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California.
The monsoon season officially started on June 15 across the southwestern United States, and several cities are outpacing their average precipitation this early in the wet season.
Phoenix, for example, has received 0.43 of an inch of rain since June 15, which is 252% of their average of 0.17 of an inch for the time frame. Farther south and east, Tucson, Arizona, has picked up 0.73 of an inch of rain, compared to the average of 0.46 of an inch. Albuquerque, New Mexico, is another area that has received a surplus of rainfall since the start of the monsoon, picking up nearly an inch.
Meanwhile, El Paso, Texas, has picked up a whopping 4.67 inches of rain since mid-June compared to an average of 0.96 of an inch for the period.
However, the region as a whole needs a lot more rain to fall to cut into the widespread extreme and exceptional drought conditions. And at least in the short term, forecasters say that the needed rainfall will be diminishing across the area.
While the monsoon season has been off to a good start with fairly widespread shower and thunderstorm activity, rainfall in the Desert Southwest will diminish somewhat beyond midweek, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
An area of high pressure tens of thousands of feet high in the atmosphere is expected to build over Arizona and the rest of the interior West, which will act to suppress monsoon activity southward into Mexico.
Through Wednesday, downpours largely shifted out of Arizona and focused over Colorado and New Mexico.
By Friday, however, drier air will move back in and put a lid on thunderstorm formation.
Stray afternoon thunderstorms may continue to bubble up over the highest peaks in the Four Corners states late this week, but precipitation will not be nearly as widespread or intense as prior days.
"As the rainfall chances diminish, temperatures will run higher, increasing cooling demands across the Southwest," Roys said.
Monsoon moisture may again increase across the region as early as next week.
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