Rain, hail coat parts of metro Phoenix as snow falls up north
May 20, 2019, 12:49 PM | Updated: Jun 18, 2019, 12:08 pm
PHOENIX — Northern Arizona wasn’t the only part of the state to see unusual May weather on Monday.
Parts of the north Valley were swept with rain and hail, while the high country saw some snow.
1145A A line of showers and isolated t-storms are moving across the far north #Phoenix valley and the I-17 corridor with gusty winds, small hail and isolated lightning strikes. Expect this activity mostly to the north for a few hours through mid afternoon Drive safe! #AZWX pic.twitter.com/XH16ezk3iE
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) May 20, 2019
Moderate tstorm dropped small hail, 0.50in, and 0.24in rain in 15min. Hail shafts visible to the east. #azwx pic.twitter.com/T5iacP0FwY
— John Henz (@papahenz_wx) May 20, 2019
We’ve got hail! Wicked Thunderstorm in North Phoenix! #AZWX #Arizona @abc15 @NWSPhoenix pic.twitter.com/YZXDgY10Hb
— Ashlei L (@ashlei_lo) May 20, 2019
The high temperature for the day in Phoenix was 77 — a whopping 19 degrees below normal. That was still warmer than the record-low 72 degree high on the date in 1917.
“We did see a couple strong storms up in the north Valley that produced pea-sized hail,” Jaret Rogers of the National Weather Service in Phoenix told KTAR News 92.3 FM.
He said winds across the Phoenix area reached 30 MPH, and the gusts are expected to continue at least into Tuesday.
The below-normal temperatures should stick around for the foreseeable future, too. After a forecast high in the low-80s Tuesday, it’s expected to reach only 72 on Wednesday.
The service said a strong thunderstorm moved east from Cave Creek on Monday, affecting Glendale, Scottsdale, Peoria, New River, Cave Creek and Lake Pleasant, in the late morning/early afternoon hours.
The amount of wet stuff that fell Monday was not enough to be measured, but the month has already seen a good amount of rainfall.
RELATED STORIES
About one-hundredth of an inch of rain was recorded May 7, with some more falling the next day.
Mark O’Malley with National Weather Service in Phoenix told KTAR News 92.3 FM earlier this month that the metro Phoenix area “typically only gets one-hundredth or two (of an inch of rain) each May.
“Many Mays we see none at all. This time of year, we don’t expect much rain at all, so anything we get is progress.”
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Nailea Leon contributed to this report.
