Arizona Climate Summary October 2016 Summary of conditions for September 2016

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1 September 2016 Temperature and Precipitation Summary Arizona Climate Summary October 2016 Summary of conditions for September 2016 September 1 st 14 th : High pressure over the Four Corners brought rainfall to southeastern and the higher elevations of central and northern Arizona during the first three days of September. Prescott had 0.70 on the 1 st, 0.60 on the 2 nd and Valle (in Flagstaff) had 0.89 on the 3 rd. High temperatures in the southwest deserts remained near 105 through September 5 th. By the 4 th, the high pressure broke down and a low pressure system over Nevada brought southwesterly flow and drier air into Arizona. Temperatures remained near normal. On the 6 th, a low pressure system off the coast of Mexico brought tropical moisture into the state and lowered temperatures about 5 degrees. On the 6 th and 7 th, Coronado National Monument in southeastern AZ had 3.22 and Alpine had 0.85 on the 8 th. There was a brief reprieve from the rainfall on the 10 th as drier air was pushed into the southwest. Between the 11 th and 14 th, a low pressure system moved into Nevada and southern Utah, bringing light rainfall to the southwest and the higher elevations of eastern Arizona. High rainfall totals included 0.20 at Springerville on the 11 th, 0.51 at Bisbee on the 12 th, 0.25 at Bisbee-Douglas on the 13 th, and 0.20 at Show Low on the 14 th. September 15 th 30 th : From the 15 th through the 19 th, conditions were relatively dry and stable across the state as a weak low pressure system over Nevada and Utah moved slowly through the west. Flagstaff reached freezing for the first time this fall on September 15 th and had six nights of freezing temperatures this month. Temperatures dipped below 100 o F on the 13 th and did not exceed 100 o F in the state until the 17 th. The only rainfall was 0.02 at Elgin on the 16 th and 0.26 at Bellemont on the 17 th. By the 20 th, the high pressure over west Texas brought significant moisture into the state with widespread rainfall across northern and central Arizona. Rainfall totals from the 20 th through the 23 rd included 2.04 at Williams, 1.96 at Seligman, 1.82 at Grand Canyon North Rim, 1.69 at Grand Canyon Airport, 1.40 at Bellemont, 1.30 at Prescott, and 0.73 at Flagstaff. The 24 th was dry statewide, and on the 25 th an easterly wave brought more tropical moisture up from Mexico and the eastern Pacific into the state. Daily rainfall totals included 0.39 at Bisbee-Douglas on the 26 th, 0.19 at Pioneer on the 27 th, 0.40 at Flagstaff on the 28 th, 0.82 at Show Low on the 29 th, and 0.65 at Springerville on the 30 th. Temperatures dropped below 100 o F on the 22 nd, and remained below 100 o F for the rest of the month except in Yuma that had 101 on the 26 th and 100 on the 30 th. In This Issue: Overview of September, graphs of the September daily maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, mean daily dew points for Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson; September climate statistics, maps of mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, dew points, wind speeds for September; and graphs of the mean September 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. 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. Dr. Nancy J. Selover, State Climatologist Edited by Nancy J. Selover 2016 Arizona State Climate Office 1

2 September 2016 Daily Temperature, Precipitation, & Dew Point for Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson 2

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4 FLAGSTAFF CLIMATE STATISTICS September 2016 This September had no significant ranking for temperature or precipitation. Avg Max Temp (F) 71.1 Normal 72.9 Avg Min Temp (F) 42.5 Normal 42.0 Avg Mean Temp (F) 56.8 Normal 57.4 Departure from Normal (F) -0.6 Highest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 62.1 in 1947 Lowest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 52.3 in 1912 Highest Temp this month (F): 82 on 10 th & 19 th Lowest Temp this month (F): 30 on 17 th & 24 th Record High (F): 91 on 9/1, 9/2, & 9/3/1948 Record Low (F): 20 on 9/22/1912 No temperature or precipitation records this month: Flagstaff Number of Days of: Minimum Temp 50 o F or higher 5 Minimum Temp 32 o F or lower 6 Maximum Temp 80 o F or higher 3 Maximum Temp 70 o F or lower 13 Heating Degree Days 239 Normal 229 Cooling Degree Days 1 Normal 3 Degree base 65 o F Total September Precipitation 1.54 Normal September Precipitation 2.38 Departure from normal Greatest 24-Hr Precipitation 0.48 on 9/19-20 Total Precipitation Year-to-Date Departure from Normal Number of Days: Clear 22 Partly Cloudy 7 Cloudy 1 Greatest September Precipitation 6.75 in 1983 Least September Precipitation: Trace in 1957, 1973, 1992, 1955, and 1898 Average Wind Speed Highest Peak Gust 4.1 mph 46 mph from 220 o on 14 th PHOENIX CLIMATE STATISTICS September 2016 This September had no significant ranking for temperature or precipitation. Avg Max Temp(F) 97.5 Normal 99.8 Avg Min Temp(F) 75.7 Normal 76.9 Avg Mean Temp (F) 86.6 Normal 88.4 Departure from Normal (F) -1.8 Highest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 92.2 in 2001 Lowest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 78.9 in 1912, 1900 Highest Temp this month (F) 106 on 3 rd Lowest Temp this month (F): 62 on 24 th Record High (F): 113 on 9/5/1945 Record Low (F): 47 on 9/20-21/1965, 9/22/1895 No temperature or precipitation records this month 4 Phoenix Number of Days of: Minimum Temp 70 o F or lower 4 Minimum Temp 80 o F or higher 8 Maximum Temp 90 o F or lower 6 Maximum Temp 110 o F or higher 14 Heating Degree Days 0 Normal 0 Cooling Degree Days 655 Normal 700 Degree base 65 o F Total September Precipitation 0.32 Normal September Precipitation 0.64 Departure from normal Greatest 24-Hr Precipitation 0.26 on 22 nd Total Precipitation Year-to-Date 4.36 Departure from Normal Greatest September Precipitation 5.41 in 1939 Least September Precipitation 0.00 in 1973, 1968, and 1988 and 13 other years.

5 Number of Days: Clear 15 Partly Cloudy 13 Cloudy 2 Average Wind Speed 7.1 mph Highest Peak Gust 37 mph from 270 o on 22 nd TUCSON CLIMATE STATISTICS September 2016 This September had no significant ranking for temperature or precipitation. Avg Max Temp(F) 92.7 Normal 94.5 Avg Min Temp(F) 68.6 Normal 68.6 Avg Mean Temp(F) 80.6 Normal 81.6 Departure from Normal (F) -1.0 Highest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 84.8 in 2000 Lowest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 76.3 in 1964 Highest Temp this month (F): 104 on 5 th Lowest Temp this month (F): 57 on 25 th Record High (F): 107 on 9/10-11/1990, 9/14/2000 Record Low (F): 43 on 9/26/1913 Temperature and precipitation records this month: 7 th LoMax 77 tied, first set in th Precip 1.25 set, previous record 1.15 in 2006 Tucson Number of Days of: Minimum Temp 65 o F or lower 6 Minimum Temp 75 o F or higher 2 Maximum Temp 85 o F or lower 4 Maximum Temp 100 o F or higher 4 Heating Degree Days 0 Normal 0 Cooling Degree Days 475 Normal 497 Degree base 65 o F Total September Precipitation 1.60 Normal September Precipitation 1.29 Departure from normal Greatest 24-Hr Precipitation 1.27 on 7-8th Total Precipitation Year-to-Date Departure from Normal Greatest September Precipitation 5.60 in 2011 Least September Precipitation 0.00 in 1953,1898, 1968 and 3 other years. Number of Days: Clear 21 Partly Cloudy 3 Cloudy 1 Average Wind Speed Highest Peak Gust 7.7 mph 42 mph from 130 o on 29 th Data are from the National Weather Service and the National Climatic Data Center and are preliminary. 5

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

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8 The minimum temperatures ranged from 18 o F at Fort Valley near Flagstaff to 68 o F at Bartlett Dam. The lowest maximum temperature of 68 o F was recorded at Snowslide Canyon, while the highest maximum temperature was 114 o F at Parker. The highest rainfall amounts were 6.17 at Hereford in southeastern Arizona, 5.61 at Reddington near Tucson, and 5.47 at Fort Huachuca, and several locations in western and southwestern Arizona had The lowest average dew point was 34 o F at Flagstaff and the highest was 58 o F at Paloma. The highest peak wind gust was 36 mph at Parker. Average wind speeds ranged from 3 mph at many locations in central Arizona to 11 mph at Kingman, Laughlin-Bullhead City and Flagstaff. 8

9 T September 2016 The highest average minimum temperature was 76 o F at Phoenix Airport, and the lowest average minimum temperature was 36 o F at Alpine. The highest average maximum temperature was 107 o F at Ehrenberg and lowest average maximum temperature was 58 o F at Snowslide Canyon. 9

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11 September September minimum temperatures were 0 to 4 o F cooler than average across western Arizona, and 0-4 o F warmer than normal in Gila, Apache and Coconino counties. Daytime temperatures were also 2 to 4 o F cooler than average across southern and central Arizona, with warmer than normal conditions in Apache County. Southern Arizona and western Coconino County were much wetter than normal while the western, central and northeastern counties were much drier than normal. 11

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13 Calendar Year 2016 Calendar year minimum temperatures are still within 2 o F of average, with the cooler temperatures in eastern Arizona and warmer conditions in central and western Arizona. Daytime temperatures are still 1 to 3 o F warmer than average statewide, with slightly cooler conditions in southern Navajo and western Pinal counties. Precipitation is below 80% of normal across east central and southwestern Arizona. Northern Mohave, eastern Pima, Graham, Cochise and eastern Coconino counties are wetter than average so far this year. 13

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15 2016 Water Year The Water Year minimum temperatures were within 2 o F of normal across most of the state with the exception of very cool conditions in western Pima County, and warmer than normal conditions in southern Mohave County. Daytime temperatures were 0 to 2 o F warmer than normal, with slightly cooler than normal areas in western Pinal and southern Navajo counties. Precipitation was above normal in eastern Coconino, eastern Pima, Cochise, and northern Mohave counties. Western Pinal, Greenlee, and most of Yuma County received less than 70% of normal rainfall. 15

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

17 September Mean Precipitation Graphs Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson

18 2016 Cumulative Precipitation Graphs Flagstaff, Phoenix and Tucson: Flagstaff is 2.16 above normal, Tucson is 0.93 above normal, and Phoenix is 1.56 below normal. 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