Issy Condon, a UA sophomore, reads in a hammock she set up on campus. Cooler temperatures in the mid-70s are projected for the greater Tucson area through midweek, followed by 90s this weekend.

Spring may have officially sprung on the vernal equinox on Sunday morning, but winter made one last stand, with showers dumping nearly 2 inches of snow on Mount Lemmon and a healthy dose of rain over Tucson this weekend.

Recording stations picked up between 1 and 2 inches of snow near the top of the Santa Catalina Mountains, and Tucson International Airport recorded 0.16 of an inch of rain from a system that should keep things cool through midweek.

However, that could be the last bit of cold weather for the area for some time.

Temperatures are expected to rise into the low 90s by Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. That’s nearly 10 degrees above normal for this time of year.

“Don’t let the heat sneak up on you because it’s been since last year since we felt these 90-degree temperatures,” said NWS Tucson meteorologist Jim Meyer. “You can kind of get a little complacent if you’re not used to it, even if you’re used to living here.”

Luckily, the warmup will be gradual, with cooler temperatures in the mid-70s projected for the greater Tucson area through Wednesday.

The more seasonal temps are the remnants of a weather system originating out of the eastern Pacific Ocean that also produced last weekend’s precipitation, according to Meyer.

And while the end of the week and weekend will be warmer than usual, a return to more seasonable weather is in the forecast for earlier next week, with temperatures expected to return to the mid-70s.


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Edward Celaya is a breaking news and marijuana reporter. He has been on both beats since May 2021.