PHOENIX -- After the 10th wettest monsoon on record last summer, we are heading for the fifth driest monsoon on record and the driest in more than a decade.
Only .71" of rain has fallen at Sky Harbor Airport compared to 5.70" through this time last year.
The average rainfall across the Valley (Phoenix Rainfall Index) is a dismal .45" compared to 2.98" this time last summer.
The lack of rain this summer is a problem not just in the Valley, but across most of Arizona.
Since June 1, Flagstaff has received only 2.10" of rain which more than 3.5" below average for the last three months.
Tucson has experienced its 4th warmest summer on record and 13th driest monsoon on record. Rainfall in Tucson is only at 2.12" which is 2.5" below normal for the monsoon season with only one month to go.
The extremely dry summer has left most of the state in a moderate drought when looking at the last 30 days with portions of western Arizona abnormally dry.
The drought forecast through November is calling for drought conditions to develop portions of the eastern Mogollon Rim and White Mountains with isolated spots getting worse. This is due primarily to a warmer and drier forecast over the next 90 days.
There is some good news over the next couple of days as the remains of Jimena are forecasted to move north into the Baja spreading tropical across the state. If this moisture can make it all the way into the state, there is potential for some heavy rain, especially in southeastern Arizona.
However, some of the computer models bring Jimena into the northern Baja and then drift west which would keep the heavy rain threat to our south.
Think rain! We need it!
