Monsoon 2015 has been wonderfully wet, thunderously wild and laced with lightning — or, as a government meteorologist described it: “About normal.”
“Rainfall is, overall, about average for the Tucson metro area” during the monsoon so far, said Alan Hickford of the National Weather Service. “We’re seeing pulse thunderstorms that build up real fast, dump all the rain and are pretty much done. It’s about normal.”
WHERE WE STAND
Monsoon rainfall as of Monday totaled 4.23 inches at Tucson International Airport, where official rain totals are measured, Hickford said.
“But it can vary quite a bit from one area to another,” he noted. “The airport might get a 10th of an inch and an area two miles up the road gets an inch and a half.”
The monsoon — defined as the period from June 15 through Sept. 30 — brings 6.13 inches of moisture on average. That makes up more than half of Tucson’s annual rainfall of 11.6 inches.
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MONTHLY TOTALS
The season’s 4.23 inches of rainfall so far includes these monthly totals:
- June 15-30: 0.35 inches
- July: 2.08 inches
- August: 1.80 inches
The July and August totals were slightly below normal, and June was slightly above.
WHAT’S AHEAD
More rain is likely. Normal rainfall in Tucson during September is 1.29 inches.
Hickford said there’s a 30 percent chance of rain Wednesday, Sept. 2, and a 35 percent chance on Thursday.
