Arizona Climate Summary October 2015 Summary of conditions for September 2015

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1 September 2015 Temperature and Precipitation Summary Arizona Climate Summary October 2015 Summary of conditions for September 2015 September 1 st 18 th : September began with high pressure over southern New Mexico, bringing more moisture into Arizona. Rain fell somewhere in Arizona every day through the 15 th. During this time the heaviest rain day was September 1 when 1.06 fell at Davis Monthan AFB, and 0.76 fell at Tucson. Over the next week the high pressure moved around eastern New Mexico and western Texas, continuing to bring moisture into Arizona and New Mexico. Rain showers were isolated but not heavy, covering the eastern 2/3 of the state. Daily amounts over this period included 0.40 at Alpine on the 2 nd, 0.45 at Nogales on the 3 rd, 0.66 at Winslow on the 4 th, 0.42 at Flagstaff on the 5th, 0.80 at Cottonwood on the 6th, 0.56 at Nogales, 0.43 at St. Johns on the 7th, and 0.80 at Coronado National Monument on the 8 th. Temperatures during this period were on the low 100s in southern and western Arizonan, low 80s and upper 70s in northern Arizona and low to mid70s at the higher elevations. By the 9 th, the high pressure had moved over northern Mexico, bringing moisture to western Arizona. Yuma reported 0.86 on the 9 th, Sonora Desert Museum had 0.13 on the 10 th, and Elgin had 0.22 on the 11 th. By the 12 th, the high pressure settled over Arizona, and Payson received 0.18, and Nogales had 0.92 on the 13 th. By the 14 th, the high pressure had moved off the Baja California coast and a strong low pressure system swept into the state on the 14 th and 15 th and Youngtown had 0.60 and Phoenix had 0.32 on the 14 th. Also on the 14 th heavy rain in southern Utah caused flash flooding in Zion National Park, Hildale, UT and Colorado City, AZ, killing 18 people with several others missing. Seligman had 0.93 on the 15 th. On the 16 th only 0.01 of rain was reported in the state and no rain fell on the 17 th or 18 th as high pressure remained centered over northern Mexico. September 19 th 30 th : By the 19 th the high pressure system pushed more tropical moisture into the state bringing heavier rainfall to the southeast counties. Elgin had 1.01 and Bisbee had 0.43 on the 19 th. On the 21 st, Douglas had 1.22, Alpine had 1.15, Tucson had 1.04, Davis Monthan AFB had 1.02, and Nogales had On the 22 nd, Davis Monthan had another 0.76, Tucson had another 0.47, and Alpine had another On the 23 rd, the moisture had moved into central Arizona and Scottsdale Airport had 1.45, east Mesa had 0.96, and Phoenix Airport had That was the end of the monsoon activity as the high pressure moved over Arizona on the 24 th and remained there through the end of the month, ending the southerly flow of moisture into the state. No more rain was reported in the state from the 24 th through the end of September. 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 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.21 of this report for calendar abbreviations. Dr. Nancy J. Selover, State Climatologist Edited by Nancy J. Selover 2015 Arizona State Climate Office 1

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

3 Monsoon: Overall the monsoon was wetter than average in northern, southern, and eastern Arizona, and drier than normal in western Arizona, southeastern California and western Maricopa County. The NOAA tables below show monsoon totals for selected cities in Arizona and southeastern California. For more monsoon statistics for cities in Arizona, visit the Tucson NWS Monsoon website: the Flagstaff NWS Monsoon Summary webpage: and the Phoenix NWS Monsoon Summary webpage: 3

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5 FLAGSTAFF CLIMATE STATISTICS September 2015 This September was tied for 11warmest with 1948, and had no significant ranking for precipitation. Avg Max Temp (F) 75.3 Normal 73.4 Avg Min Temp (F) 45.4 Normal 41.8 Avg Mean Temp (F) 60.3 Normal 57.4 Departure from Normal (F) +2.9 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 11 th Lowest Temp this month (F): 37 on 19 th Record High (F): 91 on 9/1,2,3/1948 Record Low (F): 20 on 9/22/1912 Temperature or precipitation records this month: 15 th HiMin 53 set, previous record 52 in 1997 Flagstaff Number of Days of: Minimum Temp 50 o F or higher 4 Minimum Temp 50 o F or lower 6 Maximum Temp 80 o F or higher 3 Maximum Temp 70 o F or lower 4 Heating Degree Days 131 Normal 230 Cooling Degree Days 0 Normal 3 Degree base 65 o F Total September Precipitation 1.25 Normal September Precipitation 2.38 Departure from normal Greatest 24-Hr Precipitation 0.53 on 4-5 th Total Precipitation Year-to-Date Departure from Normal Number of Days: Clear 22 Partly Cloudy 8 Cloudy 0 Greatest September Precipitation 6.75 in 1983 Least September Precipitation 0.00 in 1955, 1957, 1973, 1992 Average Wind Speed Highest Peak Gust 5.4 mph 369mph from 220 o on 16 th 5

6 PHOENIX CLIMATE STATISTICS September 2015 This September was tied with 2008 as the 12 th warmest and had no significant ranking for precipitation. Avg Max Temp(F) Normal 99.8 Avg Min Temp(F) 76.4 Normal 76.9 Avg Mean Temp (F) 89.9 Normal 88.4 Departure from Normal (F) +1.5 Highest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 92.2 in 2001 Lowest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 79.9 in 1900, 1912 Highest Temp this month (F): Lowest Temp this month (F): 107 on 12 th 72 on 23 rd Record High (F): 113 on 9/05/1945 Record Low (F): 47 on 9/20-21/1965, 9/22/1895 Temperature or precipitation records this month: 22 nd Precip 0.41 tied, first set in th HiMin 82 set, first set in th HiMin 82 set, first set in 2010 Heating Degree Days 0 Normal 0 Cooling Degree Days 752 Normal 700 Degree base 65 o F Total September Precipitation 0.81 Normal September Precipitation 0.64 Departure from normal Greatest 24-Hr Precipitation /22 Total Precipitation Year-to-Date 5.98 Departure from Normal Number of Days: Clear 11 Partly Cloudy 16 Cloudy 3 Greatest September Precipitation 5.41 in 1939 Least September Precipitation 0.00 in 1973, 1968, and 1988 and 13 other years. Average Wind Speed 6.3 mph Highest Peak Gust 57 mph from 200 o on 14 th Phoenix Number of Days of: Minimum Temp 80 o F or lower 18 Minimum Temp 85 o F or higher 2 Maximum Temp 100 o F or lower 14 Maximum Temp 105 o F or higher 4 TUCSON CLIMATE STATISTICS September 2015 This September was tied for 19 th warmest with 1995 and 2014 and had no significant ranking for precipitation. Avg Max Temp(F) 93.9 Normal 94.5 Avg Min Temp(F) 71.7 Normal 68.6 Avg Mean Temp(F) 82.8 Normal 81.6 Departure from Normal (F) +1.2 Highest Monthly Avg Temp (F) in 2000 Lowest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 76.3 in 1964 Highest Temp this month (F): 102 on 12 th Lowest Temp this month (F): 68 on 22 nd, 23 rd, 29 th Record High (F): 107 on 09/14/2000, 9/11-11/1990, 6 Record Low (F): 43 on 098/26/1913 No temperature or precipitation records this month Tucson Number of Days of: Minimum Temp 70 o F or lower 11 Minimum Temp 75 o F or higher 4 Maximum Temp 905 o F or lower 6 Maximum Temp 100 o F or higher 2 Total September Precipitation 2.40 Normal September Precipitation 1.29 Departure from normal Greatest 24-Hr Precipitation 1.04 on Total Precipitation Year-to-Date Departure from Normal +1.34

7 Greatest September Precipitation 5.60 in 2011 Least September Precipitation 0.00 in 1898, 1953, 1957, 19598, Number of Days: Clear 23 Partly Cloudy 3 Cloudy 0 Average Wind Speed Highest Peak Gust 6.7 mph 49 mph from 280 o on 22 nd Data are from the National Weather Service and the National Climatic Data Center and are preliminary. 7

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

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10 The lowest minimum temperatures ranged from 22 o F at Grand Canyon East Entrance to 78 o F at Yucca. The lowest maximum temperature of 68 o F was recorded at Snowslide Canyon, while the highest maximum temperature of 113 o F was reported at Yuma. The lowest rainfall amount was 0.00 at several stations in Arizona and the highest were 5.86 at Vail and 5.80 at Tubac. The lowest average dew point was 34 o F at Window Rock and the highest was 68 o F at Yuma. The highest peak wind gust was 51 mph at Yuma. 10

11 T September 2015 The highest average minimum temperature was 80 o F at Yuma and the lowest average minimum temperature was 40 o F at Sunset Crater. The highest average maximum temperature was 106 o F at Bullhead City and lowest average maximum temperature was 62 o F at Snowslide Canyon. 11

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13 September September minimum temperatures were 0 to 6 o F warmer than average across northern Arizona, while a few locations in southern Arizona had slightly cooler than average temperatures. Daytime temperatures were 0 to 3 o F warmer than average across northern Arizona. Southern Arizona was 0 to 3 o F cooler than average due to increased thunderstorm activity in southern and southeastern Arizona. The cold bullseye in southern Gila County is an error, likely due to a recent change in the sensor location. September precipitation was concentrated in southern Arizona, with one very strong storm in southern Utah causing flash flooding on the Arizona Strip that swept away two vehicles and killed 12 people in Hildale, UT and Colorado City,AZ 13

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15 Calendar Year 2015 Calendar year minimum temperatures have been generally 0 to 4 o F warmer than average across most of the state, with the warmest conditions in central Gila County. Daytime temperatures were also about 0 to 3 o F warmer than average across northern Arizona, and only slightly warmer than average across the southeastern counties. Cooler than normal areas include western Pinal County. Precipitation has been much above normal across the Colorado Plateau as well as across the southeast. Parts of Mohave, Maricopa, Yavapai, Gila and Yuma counties have been drier than average so far this year. 15

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17 2015 Water Year The water year ended with minimum temperatures 1 to 4 o F warmer than average across the northern 2/3 of the state and as much as 2 o F warmer than average in the southeast. Daytime temperatures have been 1.5 to 3 o F warmer than average across northern Arizona and the western counties. Southeastern Arizona has been 0.5 to 2 o F warmer than normal, with cool pockets in western Maricopa and Pinal Counties. The cool bullseye is due to a recent sensor move in Gila County. Precipitation has been well below average in Maricopa, Yavapai, Mohave, and Yuma counties. The Colorado Plateau has received 120 to 200% of normal precipitation, and southern Arizona is also wetter than average. The Mogollon Rim, however, did not have a wet year.. 17

18 September Mean Temperature Graphs Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson : 18

19 September Mean Precipitation Graphs Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson : 19

20 2015 Cumulative Precipitation Graphs Flagstaff, Phoenix and Tucson: Flagstaff is 3.10 wetter than normal, Tucson is 1.34 wetter than normal and Phoenix is 0.06 wetter than normal. 20

21 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) 21