Phoenix could see its heaviest rainfall in months later this week

PHOENIX – The metro Phoenix forecast calls for a warm start to the week followed by a quick cooldown, with a good chance for the heaviest rainfall in months.

Highs are expected to be in the upper 70s on Monday, about 10 degrees above normal for this time of year, before dropping to the lower 70s with breezy conditions on Tuesday.

“And then on Wednesday, we’re going to continue to cool into the lower-middle 60s,” Alex Young, lead meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Monday morning.

Wednesday’s cooldown will be accompanied by a slight chance for precipitation. The possibility of rain will then increase as the week progresses.

“It looks like we might only get a shower here or there on Thursday, but then it looks like the main activity is going to be on Friday, where we should see a nice little cold front sweep through the region,” Young said.

How much rain is in the Phoenix forecast?

There’s a 60-80% chance for precipitation in the Valley on Friday, Young said, and it could be the wettest storm since last summer.

“Our current projections right now with that system is we might see anywhere from a quarter to a half an inch,” Young said.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which the NWS uses for the city’s official records, hasn’t received more than 0.01 inches of rain since Aug. 22, when 0.24 inches fell.

Jan. 29 was the last time more than trace amounts of precipitation fell at the airport. While only 0.01 inches fell that day, it snapped Phoenix’s near-record streak of days without measurable rain at 159 days.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Colton Krolak contributed to this report.

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