Phoenix area could see first rainfall since March, drop in temperatures
Jun 14, 2018, 12:45 PM
(Pixabay Photo)
PHOENIX — Tropical Storm Bud might a dud when it comes to heavy rainfall in the Phoenix area, but it will cool things down a bit in the coming days.
“We’ll have temperatures drop quite nicely on Friday, with a high at Sky Harbor of 95 and then 97 on Saturday,” Austin Jamison of the National Weather Service in Phoenix told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Thursday, when the high was expected to be near 108 degrees.
It hasn’t rained in the Valley since March 11. The area has had 1 inch of rain since Oct. 1, which is about 4.3 inches below normal for that time span.
That total isn’t expected to rise that much in the coming days as the heavier remnants of Tropical Storm Bud, which hit Mexico’s southern Baja Peninsula on Thursday, shift east toward New Mexico.
“We’re not looking at a big, huge rain event for the Phoenix area,” Jamison said. “When it’s all said and done, the Phoenix area might see anywhere from a tenth of an inch to a quarter of an inch, depending on just where you’re at in town.”
Jamison said there could be a “stray sprinkle” in the Valley on Thursday before things ramp up.
“Friday night into Saturday morning is going to be our best opportunity to see some showers and thunderstorms,” he said.
Southern Arizona could see 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches of precipitation, according to Jim Meyer of the of the National Weather Service in Tucson.
“We’re focusing more for the best chance of heavier rainfall a little bit closer to the border, like Nogales, Sierra Vista, Bisbee, those places,” Meyer said.
Tucson hasn’t had rain since Feb. 28 but could get 1/4 to 3/4 inches in the coming days.
“We completely missed out all the way through spring, so they need something,” Meyer said.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.