Following a stormy weather week, recorded rainfall in Maricopa County is primarily at or above average as of Monday.
The area on average sees 0.94 inch in July each year, according to the National Weather Service’s rainfall index.
“All things considered we had a very wet July,” according to the Maricopa County Flood Control District. “Most of the county was wetter than average for the month except for a few notable exceptions in the heart of the Valley.”
According to Gabriel Lojero, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix, one such exception is Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. He said many areas in the Valley received between 1 and 2 inches of rain over the weekend, while Sky Harbor recorded almost nothing.
Since Sky Harbor is often used as a significant data point to measure rainfall in Phoenix, Lojero said the data “can be quite deceiving” due to the localized nature of monsoon thunderstorms. In fact, Lojero said Sky Harbor appears to be getting less rain than it would on an average year, while areas around it are getting above-average rain.
Overall, the National Weather Service’s data for July showed the Valley got about 1.12 inches of rain, about 0.18 inch above average. June also fared well, with the average being a very dry 0.06 inch and this year recording 0.19 inch.
“This monsoon so far has behaved pretty much above normal,” Lojero said.
However, Lojero cautioned against making any conclusions about this monsoon season just yet as “there is still a lot of monsoon left.” Nothing is definitive yet.
Phoenix’s rainiest monsoon month is still to come: August sees on average about 1.16 inches of rain yearly. There is also still potential for storms in September, which sees about 0.94 inch a year on average.
This first week of August, Phoenix can expect a “brief break” from monsoon showers through Wednesday, with any activity relegated to areas of higher terrain, Lojero said. But come Thursday, storms could be returning as the National Weather Service forecasts moist weather for the area.
Reach breaking news reporter Sam Burdette at sburdette@gannett.com or on Twitter @SuperSafetySam
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