Despite the clouds, rain and thunder hovering over Tucson the past few days, this yearβs monsoon season will likely go down as one of the Top 10 driest, the weather service says.
As of Sept. 26, monsoon rain totals have been a dismal 2.76 inches.
The season ends on Sept. 30, making it almost impossible to hit the normal precipitation total: 5.56 inches.
Last year, the 2024 season dropped 5.80 inches of rain here during the official monsoon period, which begins June 15, the National Weather Service in Tucson says.
A typical rainy summer season here can vary widely, 2025 has shown.
The yearβs wettest month was July, with a total of 1.88 inches recorded at the airport, where official weather records are kept.
This might not sound like much, but in 1924, the most anticlimactic (and driest) monsoon βdumpedβ a total of 1.59 inches over Tucson β period. The entire season.
This yearβs low precipitation totals have put 2025 at 10th on the monsoon ranking, but itβs not to say recent rainfall hasnβt helped.
Photos: Star photographers pick their favorite monsoon photos
Monsoon lightning, 2021
Updated
A bolt of lightning illuminates a column of rain drenching mid-town, part of a powerful monsoon cell that dropped rain, winds and hail over parts of Tucson, Ariz., July 20, 2021.
Monsoon, 2023
Updated
A rainbow arcs over the eastern sky behind a stand of saguaros along north Campbell Avenue, part of the scattered monsoon storm that rumbled over Tucson, Ariz., August 8, 2023.
Monsoon, 2022
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The setting sun lights up the patchy monsoon clouds overhead as Omar Rojas Jr. works on pitching out of the stretch with his dad, Omar Sr., on the diamond at David G. Herrera and Ramon Quiroz Park, Tucson, Ariz., July 21, 2022. The two Omars were working out while daughter/sister Julissa practiced nearby with her softball team. Monsoon 2022 may finally bring the rain, with precipitation forecast this weekend and throughout the coming week.
Monsoon, 2023
Updated
Aurora Apodaca, left, lets out a laugh as she plays in the aftermath of a monsoon storm with Oscar Stump on the west side of Tucson in 2023.
Tucson weather, 2025
Updated
Kids take a ride on playground equipment at Joaquin Murrieta Park in Tucson, Ariz. under clouds that moved in early in the evening on June 30, 2025.
Monsoon, 2014
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A woman watches the water flow down the Santa Cruz River from the Congress Street bridge on September 08, 2014. Tucson Police Department officers taped off a portion of the pedestrian/bike path along the Santa Cruz River that leads underneath Congress Street. A monsoon storm that dropped a record amount of rain on Monday. The closing of the path was a precaution due to the risk of the rising water.
Rainy day in Tucson, 2023
Updated
Scott Saas listens to music while rain showers continue throughout Southern Arizona, E. University Blvd, Dec. 1, 2023. Tucson is predicted to get anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of rain Friday.
Monsoon clouds, 2025
Updated
The "Balancing Actβ sculpture poses underneath the dark cloudy skies as rain showers pass through Southern Arizona, 4502 North First Avenue, Tucson, Ariz., July 2, 2025.
Monsoon, 2025
Updated
A truck drives through flooded streets as heavy rain showers hit the city of Tucson, West Fort Lowell Road, Tucson, Ariz., July 3, 2025.
Rain catches showed that some areas across the Tucson area received between .04 and .16 inches late last week. Adding that to current rainfall totals barely tipped the scale when it came to reaching normal monsoon levels.
Reaching too high over the average, however, can cause flash floods, swift-flowing washes, and other disasters. Take 2021, for instance, when 12.79 inches of rain fell over the Tucson area in a matter of months.
While the rain may be subsiding, higher temperatures are not.
Sunday will bring a limited chance of showers and a below-average temperature, the weather service says, but Tucson will warm up next week when monsoon season comes to an end.
As drier winds make it to Tucson, temperatures could hit as high as the mid-90s next week, the forecast shows.
