3. Tucson gets an average 6.06 inches of rain - nearly half its annual total - during monsoon. How much rain did the area get in 1964, the wettest monsoon on record?
A. 12.76 inches
B. 13.84 inches
C. 14.15 inches
ANSWER: B. The 1964 monsoon set several daily rainfall records in addition to the wettest monsoon to date. Conversely, the 1934 monsoon was the driest, with just 1.59 inches of rain.
Why did we get so much rain in 1964?
JJ Brost, Science and Operations officer at the National Weather Service's Tucson office, said there were several factors that could have increased Tucson's monsoon rainfall that summer.
One, it's possible remnant moisture from Tropical Storm Natallie - which moved through western Mexico toward Arizona July 6-8 - contributed to heavy rain events in Tucson on July 12 (1.07 inches of rain) and July 14 (1.16 inches of rain).
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Two, conditions were almost ideal for three straight months of very wet weather. "We like to see high pressure in the Four Corners area for a wet monsoon because the air circles clockwise around the high pressure and helps initiate storms."
