Rainfall measured in downtown Phoenix for first time since August
Dec 5, 2017, 7:57 PM | Updated: Dec 6, 2017, 11:34 am
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
PHOENIX — Nobody panic, but we have some exciting news: It has officially, finally, rained in Phoenix.
That is right, for the first time since August, the National Weather Service recorded a measurable amount of rainfall in the Valley on Tuesday.
The final rain total at Sky Harbor Airport is 0.07". #azwx
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) December 6, 2017
Scattered showers are rapidly developing across downtown Phoenix. Up to a tenth of an inch of rain is possible in some spots. #azwx
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) December 6, 2017
While .07 inches of rain measured at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport does not seem like a big deal, it has been the first time the city has had a measurable amount of rainfall in 103 days.
The dry streak is officially over in Phoenix! With measurable rainfall reported at Sky Harbor Airport this evening, the streak ends at 103 days, making it the 20th longest dry streak of all-time. #azwx
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) December 6, 2017
That’s right — zero measurable rain fell in Phoenix during the months of September, October and November for the first time in 79 years.
The last time that happened, Franklin D. Roosevelt was U.S. president, Orson Welles broadcasted “The War of the Worlds” and the very first “Superman” comic was issued by Action Comics.
So it was not really a shock when everyone — and we mean everyone — in Phoenix was excited to hear the sound of rainfall again.
Scattered showers spritzed from Tolleson to Tempe and from New River to Maricopa.
“A lot of folks saw something,” Andrew Deemer, a meteorologist with the weather service, said Wednesday.
And, we have rain in Phoenix! #azwx pic.twitter.com/ARonG7Qc10
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) December 6, 2017
Rain ☔️ | Downtown Phoenix @NWSPhoenix @KristySFox10 #azwx pic.twitter.com/FJHz4SY0k5
— Michael Edgecomb (@TheEdgePHX) December 6, 2017
Rain and thunder over Phoenix! Been so long! pic.twitter.com/wwwLHUW7SM
— Mike Olbinski (@MikeOlbinski) December 6, 2017
Rain, actual rain falling at my house in Central Phoenix. #azwx pic.twitter.com/GgTDMZqEHd
— Ian Schwartz (@SchwartzTV) December 6, 2017
But Phoenix was not the only Arizona city to see rain on Tuesday: Tucson also saw .02 inches of rain, the first measurable amount since Nov. 7.
