Labor Day weekend in Phoenix could see rain, wind, sub 100-degree highs
Aug 31, 2023, 10:00 AM | Updated: 10:06 am
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
PHOENIX — Phoenix is likely to see a break from extreme heat during Labor Day weekend and will instead have a better chance for rain, wind and sub 100-degree highs.
Rain chances begin Thursday at 20% and increase to 40% by the night, according to the National Weather Service.
Phoenix has a 70% chance of seeing showers Friday and a 40% chance Saturday before a likely dry end to the long weekend.
Increasing moisture over the region may lead to flash flooding on Friday. A 30-40% chance for t-storms exists Thursday evening across south-central AZ, which increases to 50-70% Friday. Storms may produce locally heavier rainfall totals compared to what most areas will see. #azwx pic.twitter.com/Pd3ZMYP6ul
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) August 31, 2023
Wind gusts could top 30 mph throughout the weekend.
“Some of these storms could pack a bit of a punch to them, bringing some strong winds and frequent lightning as well as some heavy downpours of times,” Ryan Worley, a meteorologist with NWS Phoenix, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Thursday.
How cool will the Phoenix temperatures get?
Phoenix is supposed to reach 109 degrees on Thursday and if it manages to hit a degree warmer, would tie the record of 53 days of 110-plus weather in a year.
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Triple-digit heat could be gone as quick as Friday, however.
The high is forecast to be 98 degrees with the storms in the forecast.
Saturday’s high is expected to be 99 degrees before a slight rise to 101 degrees on Sunday and Monday, the holiday.
Low temperatures will also drop as a result.
NWS says to expect lows between 80 and 85 degrees all weekend.
Thursday’s low temperature was 92 degrees, which would be a record for Aug. 31.
How bad does Phoenix need the monsoon rain?
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, where NWS takes its official readings, has seen just 0.06 inches of rain during the monsoon season, which started June 15 and will end Sept. 30.
The city’s 147-day streak without measurable precipitation ended in mid-August.
It was the second-longest rainless streak in the city’s history, behind a 160-day drought from December 1971 to June 1972.
The driest monsoon season in Phoenix history happened in 2020, when 0.46 inches of rain were recorded.
“It’s just been such a dry season, so hopefully we can see some good rainfall over the next few days,” Worley said.
