Will Phoenix break its record for longest streak without measurable rain?

PHOENIX – If the current forecast pans out, Phoenix will fall just short of breaking its record for the longest streak without measurable rain.

“It looks like there are decent rainfall chances as early as Sunday and then probably lasting into Monday and Tuesday,” Chris Kuhlman of the National Weather Service (NWS) in Phoenix told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday morning.

The last measurable rain at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which the NWS uses for the city’s official readings, fell five full months ago on Aug. 22, 2024.

There have been eight days with trace amounts of rain (under 0.01 inches) at the airport since then, but not enough to snap what has become Phoenix’s second-longest official dry streak.

What is Phoenix’s longest streak without measurable rain

Phoenix would have to stay dry through next Wednesday to match its record streak without measurable rain.

The dry spell hit 152 days on Tuesday, a little over a week short of the 160-day record from December 1971 to June 1972.

If rain does fall in time to keep the record intact, it won’t be much, with totals ranging from about 0.10 to 0.25 inches across the Valley, Kuhlman said.

“It’s not going to be like an all-out, drenching rain for several days, but it’ll be periods of light rain showers,” he said.

When it comes to temperatures, the Valley forecast calls for highs in the upper 60s, about normal for this time of year, until the storm system arrives Sunday.

“It’s going to again turn quite cold,” Kuhlman said, with highs possibly staying in the upper 50s on Monday and Tuesday with overnight lows in the 30s.

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

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