Record rainfall in Yuma


Yuma is not known for being a rainy city, especially since the average rainfall for the year stands at just 3.56". But this week, there was an exception to that rule.

A cut-off area of low pressure sat just off the coast of Northern Baja for several days allowing moisture to increase across the region. By Wednesday, the atmosphere was primed, and with just a little energy from the low, several rounds of rain moved through the southwest corner of Arizona. By the end of the day on January 20th, Yuma measured 1.12" of rain, which broke the rainfall record for the day. The old record was 0.56" set back in 1933.

To put this into perspective, that's 31% of the city's average rainfall typically measured in a year. There have also been 16 years, since records began in 1876, that Yuma has not even recorded more than 1.12" in an entire year!

Certainly not complaining about the rain, as in the desert, we will take every drop we can get!