Here’s what to expect from storms heading to Valley starting this weekend

PHOENIX – Forecasters are anticipating wet metro Phoenix weather this weekend, but there could be time for outdoor activities before the rain starts falling.

“Today is going to be actually a fairly nice day,” Chris Kuhlman of the National Weather Service (NWS) in Phoenix told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Friday morning.

“Any chance of showers … at the very earliest will be … probably in the afternoon on Saturday, and that should be just isolated to maybe just a few showers. The best time frame for rainfall is going to be later Saturday night and then for Sunday morning.”

Kuhlman said to expect rainfall amounts of half an inch to an inch – not enough to cause flooding — before the rain tapers off Sunday.

“We’re not looking for any storms that are going to cause any winds or anything like that,” Kuhlman said. “So, it’s generally just going to be a fairly quiet weather event with just rain showers, maybe a few rumbles of thunder.”

Earlier this week, forecasters were expecting the rain to arrive on Friday, but the system took longer than projected to develop.

The high country in northern Arizona is expected to see rain over the weekend, too, but snow is only in the forecast for high-elevation mountain ranges, Kuhlman said. The chance of snow will increase at lower elevations such as Flagstaff when temperatures drop early next week.

Phoenix weather hasn’t included rain in a month

It’s been a full month since Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which the NWS uses for the city’s official readings, received measurable precipitation. Nearly a quarter of inch came down on Oct. 13 to cap a five-day rain event that caused flooding and damage in the Valley.

Temperature-wise, the local forecast calls for highs in the middle 80s on Friday and a few degrees lower on Saturday.

“It will start to cool off Saturday, but it’s not going to be a dramatic cooldown. … The biggest cooldown is going to be from Saturday to Sunday, where Sunday we’ll see highs only around 70 degrees,” Kuhlman said.

What will the Phoenix weather be like after the weekend?

Looking ahead, another storm system is expected to produce the coolest temperatures of the year and more rain early next week.

“We have the first weather system (that) will mostly move out later Sunday, (followed by) maybe a dry period for 18, 24 hours, and then we have another weather system coming in as early as Monday night,” Kuhlman said.

The best chance for more rain will be Tuesday and into Wednesday, with storm activity similar to what’s expected over the weekend.

“And probably we’ll get colder, maybe the coldest might be during the middle part of next week, where we might only see highs around 65 degrees,” Kuhlman said.

Phoenix hasn’t seen a daily high temperature in the 60s since April 2. The mid-60s would be about 10 degrees below normal for the third week of November.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ginia McFarland contributed to this report.

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