FLAGSTAFF — A brief monsoon rain hit parts of northern Arizona and the Tucson area Monday afternoon, giving some areas a temporary respite from the relentless heat wave that has continued across the state.
National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Stubblefield said the Flagstaff area was less affected by the monsoon, with most areas generally receiving less than 1/10th of an inch of rain, while isolated areas saw between 0.5 inch and 1 inch. An inch of rainfall was observed.
Areas with the highest readings were the Blue Ridge Reservoir outside Payson, which recorded 0.7 inches of rain, and the San Francisco Mountains in Flagstaff, which received 0.55 inches of rain throughout the afternoon.
The rain also kept Flagstaff considerably cooler, with temperatures reaching the mid-90s over the weekend, breaking multiple records. After the storm passed, the temperature dropped to 82 degrees Celsius, nearly 10 degrees below the city’s high today.
Stubblefield said it’s not uncommon for storms to begin around Independence Day in the Flagstaff area, but it was the first rain in Flagstaff for the monsoon season, which officially begins July 15.
Looking ahead, warmer temperatures are expected to persist for the foreseeable future, with “sporadic showers and thunderstorms, with the potential for heavy rainfall in some areas, but not necessarily extensively,” he said.
Southern Arizona is soaking wet
Tucson experienced its first thunderstorm of the monsoon season early Monday evening.
The Tucson National Weather Service said the storm was preceded by winds that blew into the Tucson metropolitan area, with gusts of up to 60 mph in the area, with the most common gusts between 40 and 80 mph.
Recorded precipitation varied across Tucson, recording 0.4 inches near the airport in southern Tucson and 1.42 inches in the Catalina Foothills to the north.
The National Weather Service, which is monitoring power outages, said the high winds caused power outages across Tucson.
National Weather Service meteorologist Julia Tetraut said authorities had not received many reports of flooding, but had issued flash flood warnings.
Tetraut said a storm could occur later in the week.
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