Our recent rain broke drought's long reign - and there's a chance of more wet relief today and Wednesday.
But then, whoa: The forecast calls for dry, mostly clear weather as the week draws to a close.
Could this be the last hurrah of the monsoon?
Maybe. Maybe not.
That's the indefinite word from the National Weather Service.
"We're seeing a drying period Thursday, Friday and Saturday - but we're not saying for sure that it's the end of the monsoon yet," said meteorologist Ryan Fliehman. "We can't rule out that there will be more storms developing."
WHY IT MATTERS
Storms and showers over the weekend - bringing more than 2 inches of rain to some parts of the Tucson area - weren't enough to make up for what had been an uncommonly dry year.
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Normal precipitation by this time of year is 8.52 inches, but we had managed to suck only 5.82 inches out of the sky by Monday afternoon.
That left the area 2.7 inches below normal for the year.
The monsoon - officially defined as the period from June 15 to Sept. 30 - could still deliver more precious moisture.
Maybe.
Fliehman said Tucson has a 30 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms today and Wednesday before the late-week dry-out with "very, very little chance of precipitation."
After that?
"It varies year to year," Fliehman said.
Contact reporter Doug Kreutz at dkreutz@azstarnet.com or at 573-4192.
