ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

This year’s monsoon in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ was split in two: An early, wet start and a dry, especially hot end.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ recorded 5.39 inches of rain in the first half of this year’s monsoon (June 15 to Aug. 8), and just 0.41 inches in the second half (Aug. 9 to to Sept. 30), the National Weather Service here .

The official monsoon season here spans June 15 to Sept. 30.

In-all, 5.80 inches of rain fell this monsoon, 0.11 inches above normal. It’s the 61st driest such period in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s weather history, dating back to 1895, the National Weather Service in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ says.

And it was hot too.

Tuesday afternoon marked the 100th day to reach triple-digit highs this year, said Glenn Lader, a weather service meteorologist. That’s the second-most days to reach at least 100 degrees in a given year, behind 2020, Lader said.

The hottest recorded October high temperature in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ — 103 degrees — was was broken on Tuesday as the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ International Airport reached 105 degrees “so far,â€� the national weather service here said in a shortly before 1:30 p.m.

Stormy start to 2024 monsoon

Powerful storms prompted a wetter-than-usual start to monsoon.

On June 21, a big storm dropped 0.35 inches of rainfall at the airport, a weather service meteorologist told the Star in August.

That sparked a busy few days of isolated monsoon storms. The storms produced heavy rain, flooding and resulted in the death of a woman whose body was found in the Rillito River near Fort Lowell and Swan roads. Another major storm on July 2 resulted in a tornado on ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s southeast side, but damage was limited.

On July 14, there were two tornado warnings issued when a complex of storms struck the region. Storm damage stretched across the area, including toppled trees, power lines and the roof being ripped off an auto parts store. The complex brought numerous microbursts across the city, with the strongest recorded wind gust reaching 76 mph in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Mountains.

From the beginning of June through Aug. 15, the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Fire Department responded to 33 calls for swift-water rescues and 49 stranded vehicle calls, the department says. The total figure of 82 combined calls is the most since 2021 when there were 47 water rescues and 40 calls for stranded vehicles, though that included the entire month of August.

Rainy days go away

The 1.2 inches of rain that fell here in August was 0.78 inches less than the normal. But that figure is a little misleading, because according to the national weather service here, 0.91 inches of rain “occurred on (Aug. 8) at the airport in a span of 30 minutes,� the weather service .

The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ International Airport is where ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s official weather records are measured. The last time there was measurable rain there: Sept. 17, when .01 inches fell.

And it only rained 0.12 inches at the airport for all of September, 1.2 inches below normal.

Heat a factor all season

Wet or dry, heat was a factor for all of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s monsoon.

It was the fourth hottest June, second hottest July and sixth hottest August on record. That made summer 2024 tie 2020 as the hottest ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ summer on record, the weather service says.

Dating back to 1895, the average amount of 100-plus-degree days in the months of June through September specifically is 63 days. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ recorded its 93rd triple-digit high on Monday, the final day of monsoon.

Through Monday, 44 days topped the 105-degree mark, the third-most in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s weather history behind 1994’s 53 days and 2020’s 57 days. There are normally 25 such days in the months of June through September.

Hot days likely to continue

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s winter is expected to be warmer and drier than usual.

The first half of October will likely bring above-normal temperatures and below-normal rain, says Lader, the weather service meteorologist.

For the second half of October, the Climate Prediction Center is placing equal chances on above-, below- or near-normal precipitation.

The region is trending towards a La Niña weather pattern, which tend to be drier. But Lader notes it’s actually trending toward a weak La Niña, and the correlations between it and precipitation “are a little less prevalent� when making longterm rain predictions.

More immediately, high temperatures dropping below 100 degrees will not likely be a regular thing until later in October, Lader said.

“But we’re kind of in this for the time being, this very persistent, hot pattern where we’re seeing the latest hottest temperatures on record,� he said.

Back to homepage

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.