Average Rainfall (Phoenix: transplants, to move, pool)

[HUNOOSH]

Coming from MA I'm just wondering how much rain falls during a monsoon? Is it something that happens in a day or period of time? Rains all the time here. And flooding can happen but it's not every time it rains. What to expect during a monsoon? Will new moving to AZ is all goes well in June.

[Wally Sconce]

Originally Posted by HUNOOSH

Coming from MA I'm just wondering how much rain falls during a monsoon? Is it something that happens in a day or period of time? Rains all the time here. And flooding can happen but it's not every time it rains. What to expect during a monsoon? Will new moving to AZ is all goes well in June.

A "Monsoon" by AZ standards would be the equivalent of a normal summer in MA, actually rainfall will be much less. It's called monsoon season because the weather patterns change and bring in the humidity from the south east.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by AZguy99

The soil moisture is mostly gone now due to the record warmth we had this past week. Phoenix hit 98, and Yuma managed to hit the century mark. Rain isn't expected in Phoenix again until July, and that means another intense wildfire season.

Northern AZ did have a fair share of precipitation this winter, but there just wasn't enough snow. For the most part, it was still a warm winter, and drier than normal. You're correct that the soil moisture is less now because of the record warmth lately. If there is truly not going to be any further precipitation until the summer monsoon, then so much for the NWS predictions. Even after they screwed up on their long range outlooks for this last winter, they are STILL forecasting above normal rainfall for April and the rest of the spring/early summer. Quite frankly, I don't trust anything they say as far as precipitation outlooks.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/product...off14_prcp.gif
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/product...off01_prcp.gif

Originally Posted by HUNOOSH

Coming from MA I'm just wondering how much rain falls during a monsoon? Is it something that happens in a day or period of time? Rains all the time here. And flooding can happen but it's not every time it rains. What to expect during a monsoon? Will new moving to AZ is all goes well in June.

It's our second rainy season ... winter being the primary rainy season. On average, Phoenix has 1.05 inches in July, an inch in August, and 0.64 inch in September. This is dry compared to MA, but there are times when we can have strong thunderstorms with heavy flooding rains. It doesn't rain every day at all during the monsoon, but sometimes in the evenings we have blowouts from distant thunderstorms, or haboobs (dust storms). Much of the time it will still be sunny, hot, and dry (even in July & August). June is normally very dry, in fact it's our driest month on average. Just be prepared for the heat. June through September is known to be extremely hot here, so you'll likely have to contend with that more than any monsoon storm.

[HUNOOSH]

Will be there in June or July. So expect the driest heat then?

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by HUNOOSH

Will be there in June or July. So expect the driest heat then?

Late June is where the hottest days of the year usually are. It's still very dry though and it "cools" off nicely after sunset. Around the 4th of July, the moisture starts to roll in and that knocks off a few degrees from the highs, but brings humidity with it. If the moisture hangs around it will stay below 110 for the most part, but sometimes - at least once a year it seems - the humidity kind of goes away in late July and it surges to the 1-teens along with some residual humidity. Those are the worst days of the year. August is miserable too with heat and humidity, but not as bad as July. It seems worse though because by the end of August you have just had it with summer and can't wait for monsoon to peter out and the dry air to come back. That is usually around the early part of September. By mid-September, if the moisture is gone, it is OK again, at least for me. October is lovely. Maybe a little warm in the day, but very nice nights. By then, we are acclimated and anything below 100 sounds cool.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Late June is where the hottest days of the year usually are. It's still very dry though and it "cools" off nicely after sunset. Around the 4th of July, the moisture starts to roll in and that knocks off a few degrees from the highs, but brings humidity with it. If the moisture hangs around it will stay below 110 for the most part, but sometimes - at least once a year it seems - the humidity kind of goes away in late July and it surges to the 1-teens along with some residual humidity. Those are the worst days of the year. August is miserable too with heat and humidity, but not as bad as July. It seems worse though because by the end of August you have just had it with summer and can't wait for monsoon to peter out and the dry air to come back. That is usually around the early part of September. By mid-September, if the moisture is gone, it is OK again, at least for me. October is lovely. Maybe a little warm in the day, but very nice nights. By then, we are acclimated and anything below 100 sounds cool.

Reps for you! Well said.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Late June is where the hottest days of the year usually are. It's still very dry though and it "cools" off nicely after sunset. Around the 4th of July, the moisture starts to roll in and that knocks off a few degrees from the highs, but brings humidity with it. If the moisture hangs around it will stay below 110 for the most part, but sometimes - at least once a year it seems - the humidity kind of goes away in late July and it surges to the 1-teens along with some residual humidity. Those are the worst days of the year. August is miserable too with heat and humidity, but not as bad as July. It seems worse though because by the end of August you have just had it with summer and can't wait for monsoon to peter out and the dry air to come back. That is usually around the early part of September. By mid-September, if the moisture is gone, it is OK again, at least for me. October is lovely. Maybe a little warm in the day, but very nice nights. By then, we are acclimated and anything below 100 sounds cool.

Not to everyone. Some of us LOVE the heat and don't even notice the "humidity" !

[AZguy99]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Northern AZ did have a fair share of precipitation this winter, but there just wasn't enough snow. For the most part, it was still a warm winter, and drier than normal. You're correct that the soil moisture is less now because of the record warmth lately. If there is truly not going to be any further precipitation until the summer monsoon, then so much for the NWS predictions. Even after they screwed up on their long range outlooks for this last winter, they are STILL forecasting above normal rainfall for April and the rest of the spring/early summer. Quite frankly, I don't trust anything they say as far as precipitation outlooks.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/product...off14_prcp.gif
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/product...off01_prcp.gif



It's our second rainy season ... winter being the primary rainy season. On average, Phoenix has 1.05 inches in July, an inch in August, and 0.64 inch in September. This is dry compared to MA, but there are times when we can have strong thunderstorms with heavy flooding rains. It doesn't rain every day at all during the monsoon, but sometimes in the evenings we have blowouts from distant thunderstorms, or haboobs (dust storms). Much of the time it will still be sunny, hot, and dry (even in July & August). June is normally very dry, in fact it's our driest month on average. Just be prepared for the heat. June through September is known to be extremely hot here, so you'll likely have to contend with that more than any monsoon storm.

They're wrong. We won't get any rain until July. This is the dry season, and April, May, and June usually get no rain at all whatsoever.

[AZguy99]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Late June is where the hottest days of the year usually are. It's still very dry though and it "cools" off nicely after sunset. Around the 4th of July, the moisture starts to roll in and that knocks off a few degrees from the highs, but brings humidity with it. If the moisture hangs around it will stay below 110 for the most part, but sometimes - at least once a year it seems - the humidity kind of goes away in late July and it surges to the 1-teens along with some residual humidity. Those are the worst days of the year. August is miserable too with heat and humidity, but not as bad as July. It seems worse though because by the end of August you have just had it with summer and can't wait for monsoon to peter out and the dry air to come back. That is usually around the early part of September. By mid-September, if the moisture is gone, it is OK again, at least for me. October is lovely. Maybe a little warm in the day, but very nice nights. By then, we are acclimated and anything below 100 sounds cool.

August is worse than July, but that's just me I guess.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Not to everyone. Some of us LOVE the heat and don't even notice the "humidity" !

Youre new here. Just wait a few years.

Youll try to convince everyone you "love" it, and theyll look at you cross-eyed. hahaha Phoenix has a massive turnover rate mainly due to the heat. Keep that in mind. Most people "love" it when they first arrive, then they get beat down by the temps and move elsewhere. Phoenix is funny like that.