A punishing July will quickly make us forget June’s gift of moderation, it appears.
Tucson’s average temperature for June was below normal, for the first time since 2009 and the second time since 1998, the National Weather Service says.
The monthly average temperature of 84.5 degrees was 1.6 degrees below the 30-year June normal at Tucson International Airport, where the city’s official weather readings are recorded.
Temperature extremes for the month ranged from a high of 111 degrees on the 25th and 26th to a low of 60 on the 1st.
This was the first June since 2007 to have the warmest monthly low temperature not be 80 degrees or warmer, says the weather service’s monthly wrap-up report.
Rain? Zero for the month at the airport. This was the 16th June, since 1895, in which the official recording location saw no rainfall.
Most of the metro area, using several sources including rainlog.org and the Pima County Regional Flood Control District gauges, also recorded no rain, the NWS says.”There were isolated spots on the morning of the 20th that recorded less than an inch.”
July could be a beast.
To start with, the Tucson metro area will endure “excessive heat” — along with much of southern and central Arizona — over the long July 4th weekend, the weather service warns.
Highs are forecast of 110 Sunday, 111 Monday, and 110 Tuesday at the Tucson airport.
“While it’s tempting to spend much of the holiday weekend outdoors, this is dangerous heat! Find a cool place and limit exposure to the heat, especially after 10 a.m. each day,” the NWS in Tucson tweeted Friday.
Moreover, “much-above normal temperatures” are expected to prevail through the week.
“It’s hot and folks are getting antsy! We’re getting questions ‘Where is the monsoon?‘ and “When is it going to rain at my house/city?’” the weather service tweeted.
“The next week is going to be defined by heat as deep moisture stays south. ... We’ve got very dry air now across southeast Arizona.”
It noted that the monsoon is officially defined as a season from June 15 through Sept. 30, but adds, “It’s not uncommon that storms don’t really ramp up until July, so be patient!”
But then, brace yourself, it warns: “The latest forecast from the Climate Prediction Center shows increased odds for below normal precipitation and above normal temps for the 2nd week of July as well.”
For the entire month, it says the latest outlook “is consistent with what we will experience to start the month — hotter and drier than normal conditions. That doesn’t mean the monsoon won’t start to kick in later this month, but it may be hard to catch up on rainfall.”
This backs up what University of Arizona climate scientist Michael Crimmins said Thursday — that our monsoon rains are likely still a few weeks away, and that the season could end up with slightly less than its 5.5-inch average rainfall for Tucson.
Don’t you miss June already?
Do you know when our hottest day was, or our coldest? What was our wettest year? Take this quiz and find out.
