Monsoon 2022 continues to be active. Multiple outflows converged on the Valley of the Sun during the afternoon of June 26th, resulting in the formation of strong to severe thunderstorms. Officially, Phoenix Sky Harbor picked up 0.18" of rain, setting the record for the wettest June 26th on record. This was not a particularly hard record to break, considering this is only the 4th time rain has fallen on June 26th. The old record was 0.07" set in 1927.

Another, perhaps more interesting fact, is this is the 3rd day with measurable rain so far this month. Our of 127 years of weather records, this is only the 10th year that there have been three or more days of measurable rain in June. The record number of days is four, and with more rain in the forecast, we might just tie the record.

This winter season (2021-2022), something happened that has not occurred since weather records began in 1896!

Measurable rain was recorded on Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day! The old "record" was three of the four big holidays in the same season set in 1941, 1959, and 2016.

If you like rain, this was certainly a nice change!

Nothing beats fun weather facts, and here's an interesting one! Since Phoenix weather records began in 1896, measurable rain has never fallen on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day in the same season!

In fact, measurable rain has only been recorded on at least three of the "Big 4" three times.

This year (2021) it is possible we could break the record and have the first year with measurable rain on all four days! Phoenix already recorded a record-setting 1" of rain on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day managed to get another 0.01". There is a good chance of rain on New Year's Eve but the trick will be New Year's Day as rain chances will quickly come to an end around midnight. Can we keep the rain going just a few hours longer? Time will tell!

At the very least, this year will likely join the ranks and become the 4th time rain has fallen on at least three of the big holidays.

Christmas Eve 2021 will go down in the record books as the wettest since records began in 1896! Phoenix Sky Harbor measured 1.00" of rain, breaking the old record of 0.93" set back in 1944.

This marks only the 13th time measurable rain has fallen on Christmas Eve in Phoenix!

If you like rain, this was certainly a nice present from Mother Nature!

It rained! Around 7:35 pm on December 9th, the rain gauge at Phoenix Sky Harbor measured the first 0.01" since October 11th!

While this dry streak certainly felt like a long one, it is nowhere near the record, which stands at 160 days (no rain from December 30, 1971 through June 6, 1972).

As for rainfall totals with this past storm, Phoenix Sky Harbor officially picked up 0.35", bringing the yearly total to 5.93". The year-to-date average is 6.71", so we still have some work to do before the end of the year.

Strong thunderstorms developed over the Phoenix valley on the evening of July 3rd as outflows converged. While some portions of the Valley saw over an inch of rain, Phoenix Sky Harbor officially picked up 0.26", which broke a 94-year-old rainfall record for the day! The old record for the day was 0.22" set in 1927.

In case you are keeping track, this brings the 2021 Monsoon total to 0.43" (above the June 15th to July 4th average of 0.08") and the yearly total to 1.49" (below the year-to-date average of 3").

Since 1896, measurable rain has only been recorded on July 3rd eleven times.

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!

On Tuesday, January 19th, at around 6:17 am, Phoenix Sky Harbor recorded its first measurable rain of 2021! The average first measurable rain for a year, using the 30-year average (1980-2010), is January 12th.

There have been 11 years since 1896 when measurable rain was recorded on January 1st, with the latest-ever first measurable rain in a year being June 7th set back in 1973. The second latest is May 29th set in 1937, and the third latest jumps to March 18th, recorded in 2012.

So has the first day of measurable rain in a year changed over time?

Of course, after all, you are dealing with the weather, which feeds directly into the climate. The graph below shows the first day of measurable rain (in Julian days) and the 30-year rolling average. As can be seen, the latest 30-year average was January 21st in the late 1930s, which was mainly influenced by 1937. The earliest average came in on January 10th in the early 2000s, and since that time, we have been on a slow increase, with the average (including this year) sitting at January 17th.

Something of note, there is no correlation between the first day of measurable rain in a year and the yearly rain total.