May in Tucson was slightly warmer than usual, accompanied by above-average rainfall, according to the National Weather Service.
The official climate report for May wasn’t out Wednesday, but preliminary Weather Service data indicates that temperatures were about a half a degree above the normal average for the month.
In a typical May here the temperature average is 76.8 degrees, but this year was about 77.3 degrees.
Also in the Tucson-area for the month: No day reached 100 degrees.
That’s not as uncommon as some Tucsonans would expect, says Aaron Hardin, a forecaster for the Tucson office of the National Weather Service. There have been 50 instances since record-keeping began here that May has been free of triple-digit highs. That was also the case recently in 2019, 2016 and 2013.
May also measured a higher-than-average rainfall.
Typically, Tucson records 0.2 inches of rain in May. This year the city received about 0.53 inches.
Looking ahead to June, forecasters predict below normal temperatures for the first couple of weeks.
Although not every day is expected to be below average, the overall average temperature is anticipated to be lower than normal.
Tucson is projected to experience fairly normal levels of rain in June, with some areas east of the city potentially receiving slightly above-average rainfall, particularly in Cochise, Graham and Greenlee Counties. The official start of monsoon season in Tucson is June 15.
Go to www.weather.gov/twc/ the website for the Weather Service in Tucson for up-to-the-minute weather data.
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On May 14, Tucson got a quick glimpse of what's in store as the summer monsoon approaches.
