Monsoon 2011: The hottest ever!

PHOENIX - Monsoon 2011 will go down in the record books as the hottest ever in the Valley of the Sun.

The average temperature at Phoenix Sky Harbor was 95.0 degrees, which broke the previous record of 94.5 set back in 2007. (The average temperature is an average of the average daytime high and the average overnight low.)

The average high temperature was also a record setter at 106.7 degrees, breaking the old record of 106.4 set in 1989.

The average low temperature of 83.3 came in second place to 2007's 83.4 degrees, but just barely.

Due to continuing drought conditions and the presence of La Nina, the ABC15 weather team forecasted below normal monsoon rainfall this year and that is exactly what panned out.

We only picked up 1.60" of rain at Phoenix Sky Harbor, well below the average of 2.71".

That ranked this year's monsoon as the 36th driest on record.

The lack of rainfall contributed to an unusually high number of dust storms, also known as haboobs, as well.

We experienced eight major dust storms this year, the worst of which hit on July 5th. In fact, that one was arguably the largest haboob that ever rolled through the Valley spanning 60-70 miles wide and towering up to 5,000 feet tall.