The year 2015 was one for the weather record book. Tucson broke daily records for six high temperatures, 13 low temps and four precipitation amounts.
The records were reported by the National Centers for Environmental Information based on measurements from the official weather station at Tucson International Airport.
January started with widespread hard-freeze warnings and areas of freezing fog across southeastern Arizona. On Jan. 1, Tucson picked up a trace of snow, with some areas around the Old Pueblo picking up close to 2 inches, making it the first New Yearβs snowfall since 1960.
The end of the month was wet and wild, with back-to-back storms causing record-breaking rainfall in the Old Pueblo and high snowfall amounts in the surrounding mountains. It was the fourth-wettest January on record.
February had a similar start, with dense fog scattered around the southeastern portions of the state. Tucson recorded its first below-normal low since early January on Feb. 25, with a low temperature 6 degrees below normal. February went out with a bang with a system that brought mountain snow and widespread valley rain to Tucson. It was the warmest February on record.
March was warm and windy, as southeastern Arizona experienced the first thunderstorms of the year. By the end of the month, Tucson had already broken three daily high-temperature records, making it the second-warmest March on record.
April came in with turbulent energy. Dry air and widespread gusty winds prompted several red flag warnings for fire danger east of Tucson. A couple of rounds of moisture helped to soothe drought worries across southeastern Arizona. The moisture surge toward the end of the month broke a daily precipitation record set 14 years ago.
In May, Tucson saw several punches of rain and wind associated with small systems. A few inches of snow fell on southeastern Arizona mountaintops midmonth.
Overall, spring saw below-normal rainfall. It was the 13th-warmest spring on record, with two days reaching triple digits.
The extreme heat of Southern Arizona returned slightly ahead of schedule for the summer. Tucsonans endured the first 100-degree day on May 30, close to the average date of May 26. The first 110-degree temperature was observed 11 days earlier than normal on June 18.
The monsoon season, June 15 through Sept. 30, was a bit wetter than average, with precipitation making its way across southeastern Arizona a few weeks earlier than is typical. The airport reported 6.63 inches, while the average, according to the Tucson National Weather Service, is 6.08 inches.
June was the month of heat and rain. Tucson experienced its first round of tropical storm moisture from Andres at the beginning of June, followed by a second round from the remnants of Hurricane Blanca.
June went out with a bang, with several rounds of large hail pelting Tucson on the 30th, followed by a severe storm that prompted the Tucson National Weather Service to issue the first tornado warning since 2011.
It was the fourth-hottest June on record, with 13 straight days of highs above 105 degrees.
July continued the trend with warm and wet conditions across southeastern Arizona. Hurricane Dolores funneled in plenty of moisture midmonth, bringing flooding rains to southeastern Arizona. By this time, Tucson was a third of the way through the monsoon season, and experienced 0.5 inches less than normal rainfall. On July 28,lightning from evening thunderstorms started the Finger Rock Fire on the Catalina Mountains.
Only one of the three daily precipitation records broken in 2015 occurred during the official monsoon season. On July 28, 1.49 inches was reported at the airport, breaking the old record of 1.26 inches from 2007. It was also the highest rainfall reported in one day during the year.
The monsoon moisture slacked off in August, but the heat stayed. Midway through the month, as the atmosphere dried out, the airport broke two record high temperatures from 2012 and 1992 with temps of 107 and 110 degrees.
The active monsoon continued into the beginning of September. Hurricane Linda moved parallel to the Baja Peninsula, funneling moisture across southeastern Arizona for several days.
The end of the monsoon season, Sept. 30, was followed by several more rounds of soaking rains and isolated thunderstorms through November. This was expected, as the El NiΓ±o pattern continued in full force through the end of the year.
According to the Tucson National Weather Service, a rare cold air funnel was seen over the city on Oct. 7. This type of funnel rarely reaches the ground, and only lasts for a few minutes.
Near-record high temperatures facilitated the transition from September to October before the next weather maker pushed across southeastern Arizona. October was an active month for the atmosphere, helping 2015 to become the eighth-wettest October on record.
Hurricane Patricia became the strongest known hurricane to have formed in the Western Hemisphere in late October. The stormβs path stayed too far south and east to directly impact Arizona.
It was a mild and sunny start to November, quickly followed by windy and wet conditions. A Pacific storm brought another chance for snow showers across the higher terrain of southeastern Arizona. Several rounds of cold air intruded into Tucson as the city saw below freezing temperatures for the first time since the beginning of the year.
Overall, it was the third straight with above-normal rainfall.
December, on the whole, was cooler and drier than typical for Tucson. The first half saw an average temperature 5.8 degrees above normal. A daily precipitation record of 0.34 inches was set on Dec. 12. The second half of December reported average temperatures 4.1 degrees below normal. Tucson saw temperature extremes ranging from a 81 degrees on Dec. 10 down to 27 degrees on Dec. 27.
As for those records, 2015 was Tucsonβs second-warmest year. and the wettest since 1998.
Southern Arizonans experienced several rounds of severe weather in 2015, including a deadly lightning strike in Benson, extreme winds, flooding rains and several instances of hail. Southeastern Arizonaβs weather was also responsible for countless rainbows and stunning sunsets and sunrises across the Old Pueblo.
