Arizona's drought situation

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by AZguy99

The drought in Arizona is its worst in 110 years. The really dry winter contributed to it. So far, every month except March has gone without rain in Phoenix. Hopefully we have a decent monsoon this year to help ease the drought or else we could be in some deep sludge.

The drought is bad as a result of this past winter being excessively dry, plus the last few winters not being all that wet either. The last "wet" winter was the one of 2009-2010 (the last El Niño) ... but even that amounted to overall precipitation being just slightly above normal. The predictions are for another El Niño event this year, possibly giving us an enhanced monsoon, and a wet winter. On the other hand, what the National Blather Service predicts doesn't always come true.

Even with the drought, you can still find the adamant sun lovers who can't stop bragging about how great it is that it's sunny practically every day. The ironic thing is many of these same sun freaks love going to the lakes, pools, and waterparks. Well, guess what might happen if the drought becomes even more intense? Water levels in the lakes decrease, and there might be water restrictions implemented for things like pools & waterparks. An excessive amount of sun and too little moisture is not beneficial for any state or region.

[observer53]

The monsoon has not done much to help the drought in many, many years. We should be hoping for more rain in the winter, when we generally do get at least some, and more snow up north.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by observer53

The monsoon has not done much to help the drought in many, many years. We should be hoping for more rain in the winter, when we generally do get at least some, and more snow up north.

Exactly right, and that's what I have been saying for a long time. Winter precipitation does more to benefit water levels ... largely because of the snowpack in the high country. When there is normal to above normal snowfall which lasts into the early spring, that increases moisture levels at ground level, and contributes to a somewhat reduced risk for fires during the very dry months of May & June. Most of all, the spring runoff from melting snowpacks help our water supplies.

Lots of people look forward to the summer monsoon, but the thunderstorms can be sporadic to the point where one area is drenched and another area doesn't get anything all summer. Heavy rains during the monsoon are often isolated in nature, and can cause flash flooding. The high country does get some benefits from a normal or heavy monsoon in that it tends to bring the fire season to an end, and it usually brings cooler temps as well as greenery. Overall, however, it provides little relief in the big picture from the overall drought situation. We need several wet winters in a row to make any kind of dent in that.