PHOENIX - Not only is Arizona struggling with rainfall this monsoon season, the entire state has fallen below average for the 2009 calendar year.
Phoenix has received 2.61" of rainfall since January 1st which is 2.16" below average for the year.
MORE: Will this be one of the Valley's 10 driest monsoons ever?
Tucson so far has received 4.26" of rain which puts them in a rainfall deficit of 2.82"
Yuma has failed to reach an inch of rainfall this year. So far only .75" of rain has fallen this year which gives Yuma a shortage of .96".
Even after a wet start to 2009 in the high country, most areas are well below average for this time of year.
Precipitation in Flagstaff is at 6.54" for 2009 which is 7.67" behind for the year!
Show Low is at 5.07" with a deficit of 1.94". Winslow is just below 2" for the year with a deficit of 2.81".
The lack of rainfall this summer is primarily due to the combination of high pressure over northern Mexico, West Texas, and New Mexico resulting in somewhat drier and warmer than average conditions across the southwest.
There has been a persistent trough of low pressure over the Great Lakes which has given that part of the United States a cool wet summer, especially for July and August. It's the complete opposite of what's going on here.
MORE: July of 2009 was the hottest on record!But Arizona isn't as dry as it gets...
The El Nino weather phenomenon, a warming of the seas in the Pacific Ocean, has induced a dry spell in South America and is likely partly to blame for Mexico's lack of rain, experts say.
Mexico is suffering from its driest year in 68 years, killing crops and cattle in the countryside and forcing the government to slow the flow of water to the crowded capital.
In terms of the Mexican monsoon, most areas are at 50% of the normal rainfall for the season.
Remember, places like Mazatlan average close to 50" of rain for their Monsoon season while here in the Valley, we average a little more than 3".
So it's essential for Mexico to have near normal rainfall for their season.
Below-average rainfall since last year has left about 80 of Mexico's 175 largest reservoirs less than half full, said Felipe Arreguin, a senior official at the Conagua commission, which manages the country's water supply.
There are zones where the reservoirs are totally full but others that don't have even a drop of water.
More than 1,000 cattle have been lost due to lack of rainfall, and up to 20 million tons of crops managed by 3.5 million small farmers are at risk of being lost, agriculture groups say.
The arid northwest region of Mexico has been hardest hit, along with the central part of the country surrounding Mexico City where 20 million people live.
Mexico typically has a rainy season from around June to October, topping up lakes and reservoirs that supply much of the country's water during the rest of the year.
There is some good news regarding the potential for heavy rains in Mexico and Arizona this weekend.
We are finally going to establish a pattern in the atmosphere that will bring a daily threat for rain and thunderstorms for possibly a full week as opposed to just a couple of days before it dries out again.
Just keep your fingers crossed, because we NEED it!
