Arizona Climate Summary May 2015 Summary of conditions for April 2015

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1 Arizona Climate Summary May 2015 Summary of conditions for April 2015 April 2015 Temperature and Precipitation Summary April 1 st 16 th : April began with very light showers in Nogales and Coronado National Monument (less than 0.04 ) on the 1 st and 2 nd. A series of shortwaves moved through over the next week but there was no available moisture, so conditions remained dry statewide as all the precipitation remained north of the state.. Finally, by the 12 th a strong low pressure center moved into the southwest and drew in some subtropical moisture. On the 12 th, Coronado National Monument had 0.56, Nogales had 0.39, Elgin had 0.40, and Bisbee-Douglass Airport had The system moved through quickly and was followed by another series of low pressure system that stayed north of Arizona. April 17 th 30 th : On the 17 th the tail end of a low pressure system briefly swept across northern Arizona, dropping 0.05 of rain on Bellemont. The rest of the state remained dry, and over the next 5 days temperatures rose into the mid to upper 90s in the southwest deserts. By the 23 rd, a strong low pressure center moved over the southwest and a series of shortwaves brought widespread rain and snow to most of the state from the 23 rd through the 28 th. Bellemont reported 5.5 of snow on the 26 th, and Mount Lemmon also had snow during this period. Rainfall totals included 0.74 at Show Low, 0.79 ay Payson, 0.88 at Carefree, 0.85 at Castle Hot Springs, 0.65 at Sedona, 0.59 at Deer Valley Airport in north Phoenix, 0.43 at Youngtown, 0.50 at Springerville, and 0.94 at Flagstaff. After the 28 th, high pressure finally moved into the southwest and temperatures rose above 100 along the lower Colorado River, but did not quite reach the 100 degree mark in central Arizona. Data are preliminary and are from the National Weather Service Forecast Offices in Flagstaff, Phoenix and Tucson. **Note: The discrepancy between the Statewide Temperature and Precipitation values for Phoenix, Flagstaff and Tucson and the daily values in their graphs are due to the reporting times. Statewide Temperature and Precipitation values are taken at 5pm, while official daily records at the airports are taken from Midnight to Midnight. In This Issue: Overview of April, graphs of the April daily maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, mean daily dew points for Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson; April climate statistics, maps of mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, dew points, wind speeds for April; and graphs of the mean April temperature and precipitation for the period of record for Tucson, Phoenix, and Flagstaff, graphs of the cumulative precipitation for the calendar year for Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson. Climate calendars for Flagstaff, Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott, Winslow and Yuma, including daily and monthly normals and extremes, for each month of the year, can be downloaded directly from the State Climate website. See p. 19 of this report for calendar abbreviations. Notice*** The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) has changed its name to the National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI). The new website was unveiled April 21 st. There are some organizational changes at NOAA, associated with this change, but the mission of providing climate data will continue. Dr. Nancy J. Selover, State Climatologist Edited by Nancy J. Selover 2015 Arizona State Climate Office 1

2 April 2015 Daily Temperature, Precipitation, & Dew Point for Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson 2

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4 FLAGSTAFF CLIMATE STATISTICS April 2015 This April had no significant ranking for temperature or precipitation. Avg Max Temp (F) 58.9 Normal 58.2 Avg Min Temp (F) 27.8 Normal 28.5 Avg Mean Temp (F) 43.4 Normal 43.3 Departure from Normal (F) +0.1 Highest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 50.4 in 1989 Lowest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 36.2 in 1975 Highest Temp this month (F): 72 on 30 th Lowest Temp this month (F): 15 on 16 th Record High (F): 80 on 4/28/1992, 4/07/1989 Record Low (F): -2 on 4/02/1975 Temperature or precipitation records this month: 1 st HiMin 42 set, previous record 41 in th Precip 0.57 set, previous record 0.36 in 1994 Flagstaff Number of Days of: Minimum Temp 33 o F or higher 4 Minimum Temp 20 o F or lower 4 Maximum Temp 60 o F or higher 15 Maximum Temp 50 o F or lower 5 Heating Degree Days 642 Normal 650 Cooling Degree Days 0 Normal 0 Degree base 65 o F Total April Precipitation 1.09 Normal April Precipitation 1.15 Departure from normal Greatest 24-Hr Precipitation 0.57 on 4/25 Total Precipitation Year-to-Date 9.13 Departure from Normal Number of Days: Clear 26 Partly Cloudy 3 Cloudy 1 Greatest April Precipitation 5.62 in 1965 Least April Precipitation 0.00 in 1991 Average Wind Speed Highest Peak Gust 8.3 mph 49 mph from 210 o on 14 th PHOENIX CLIMATE STATISTICS April 2015 This April was the 12 th warmest and had no significant precipitation ranking Avg Max Temp(F) 86.8 Normal 85.2 Avg Min Temp(F) 61.7 Normal 60.2 Avg Mean Temp (F) 74.3 Normal 72.7 Departure from Normal (F) +1.6 Highest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 80 in 1989 Lowest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 62.4 in 1967 Highest Temp this month (F): Lowest Temp this month (F): 99 on 30 th 54 on 9 th & 26 th Record High (F): 105 on 4/22/2012, 4/29/1992, 4/20/1922 Record Low (F): 35 on 4/10/1922 There were no temperature or precipitation records this month: Phoenix Number of Days of: Minimum Temp 60 o F or lower 11 Minimum Temp 70 o F or higher 2 Maximum Temp 80 o F or lower 4 Maximum Temp 90 o F or higher 10 Heating Degree Days 0 Normal 17 Cooling Degree Days 287 Normal 251 Degree base 65 o F Total April Precipitation 0.18 Normal April Precipitation 0.28 Departure from normal Greatest 24-Hr Precipitation /

5 Total Precipitation Year-to-Date 1.33 Departure from Normal Number of Days: Clear 16 Partly Cloudy 14 Cloudy 0 Greatest April Precipitation 3.36 in 1926 Least April Precipitation 0.00 in 2008, 2000, 1993 and 28 other years Average Wind Speed 5.1 mph Highest Peak Gust 42 mph from 290 o on 25 th TUCSON CLIMATE STATISTICS April 2015 This April tied with two other years as 18 th warmest April on record and had no significant ranking for precipitation. Avg Max Temp(F) 83.9 Normal 82.1 Avg Min Temp(F) 55.2 Normal 52.0 Avg Mean Temp(F) 69.0 Normal 67.0 Departure from Normal (F) +2.0 Highest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 73.8 in 1989 Lowest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 57.8 in 1975 Highest Temp this month (F): Lowest Temp this month (F): 95 on 30 th 44 on 17 th Record High (F): 104 on 4/21/1989, 4/20/1989 Record Low (F): 27 on 4/04/1945 Temperature or precipitation records this month: 26 th Precip 0.16 set, previous record 0.03 in 2001 Tucson Number of Days of: Minimum Temp 40 o F or lower 6 Minimum Temp 60 o F or higher 4 Maximum Temp 80 o F or lower 6 Maximum Temp 90 o F or higher 1 Heating Degree Days 13 Normal 60 Cooling Degree Days 142 Normal 121 Degree base 65 o F Total April Precipitation 0.16 Normal April Precipitation 0.31 Departure from normal Greatest 24-Hr Precipitation 0.16 on 26 th Total Precipitation Year-to-Date 3.61 Departure from Normal Greatest April Precipitation 3.53 in 1905 Least April Precipitation 0.00 in 1895, 1897, 2006, and 23 other years Number of Days: Clear 24 Partly Cloudy 3 Cloudy 0 Average Wind Speed Highest Peak Gust 8.0 mph 40 mph from 270 o on 26 th Data are from the National Weather Service and the National Climatic Data Center and are preliminary. 5

6 Wind Speeds for April: Day Phoenix Flagstaff Tucson (mph) Avg Max Avg Max Avg Max Dew Points for April: Daily Average Dew Point ( o F): Day Phx Tuc Flg

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8 The lowest minimum temperature was 6 o F at Sunset Crater and the highest minimum was 54 o F at Phoenix. The lowest maximum temperature of 55 o F was recorded at Snowslide Canyon, while the highest maximum temperature of 102 o F was reported at Yuma, Tacna, Ehrenberg and Bullhead City. The lowest rainfall amount was 0.00 at several locations and the highest was 1.53 at Bellemont just west of Flagstaff. The lowest dew point was 16 o F at Grand Canyon National Park Airport and the highest was 47 o F at Yuma. The highest average wind speed was 13 mph at Pioneer Airport and the peak wind gust was 45 mph at Mohave. 8

9 The lowest average minimum temperature was 23 o F at Grand Canyon Airport, and the highest was 62 o F at Phoenix. The lowest average maximum temperature was 48 o F at Snowslide Canyon and the highest was 91 o F at Yuma and Bartlett Dam. 9

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11 April minimum temperatures were generally 0 to 2 o F warmer than average in the northwest half of the state and across Graham, eastern Pima and Maricopa counties. Cochise, northern Apache, southern Navajo, Gila and Pinal counties were 0 to 3 o F cooler than normal. Daytime temperatures were within 2 o F of normal, with much warmer conditions in Gila County and much cooler conditions in western Coconino County. April precipitation was widely variable, with less than 50% of average across northern and southwestern Arizona, and less than 5% of average in central Apache, southern Yuma and Mohave counties. La Paz, Gila, and Graham counties had average or wetter than average conditions 11

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13 Calendar Year 2015 Calendar year minimum temperatures continued to be 2 to 6 o F warmer than average. Only Graham County and the Coconino-Yavapai border were slightly cooler than average. Daytime temperatures were 1 to 6 o F warmer than average across the whole state, with the warmest areas in the northern 2/3 of the state. The Graham/Gila County boundary had slightly cooler than average temperatures. Precipitation continued to be highly variable across the state with the wet spots ( % of normal) in northeastern and south central Arizona. Northwestern and central Arizona have been drier than normal. 13

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15 2015 Water Year The water year minimum temperatures have continued 1-5 o F warmer than average statewide, with the warmest areas in central, southwest and northeastern Arizona. Daytime temperatures have also been 1-5 o F warmer than average with a similar pattern. Precipitation has been well below average along the Mogollon Rim and northern Arizona as well as in central Arizona. The Colorado Plateau, along eastern Coconino and central Navajo and Apache counties as well as Pima and Cochise counties in the south have been wetter than average. Unfortunately in the high country most of that has been rain rather than snow. 15

16 April Mean Temperature Graphs Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson : 16

17 April Mean Precipitation Graphs Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson : 17

18 2015 Cumulative Precipitation Graphs Flagstaff, Phoenix and Tucson: Flagstaff and Tucson are near or slightly wetter than average, while Phoenix is much drier than average. 18

19 The downloadable normals and extremes calendars use the following abbreviations: NORM = 30 year ( ) average value (degrees Fahrenheit (F)) OBS = The temperature observation for that day this year AVG = Average daily temperature HI MAX = Highest maximum temperature for that day (F) LO MAX = Lowest maximum temperature for that day (F) LO MIN = Lowest minimum temperature for that day (F) HI MIN = Highest minimum temperature for that day (F) Mx PCP = Maximum precipitation for that day (inches) Mx SNO = Maximum snowfall for that day (inches) 19