No change to US Drought Monitor in Arizona; Fire danger remains high

PHOENIX — Despite the Valley receiving some sprinkles of rain last weekend, there has been no change to the drought monitor, said the U.S. Drought Monitor.

And even after Hurricane Bud, which inflicted damage to the Baja California and Mexico areas and brought rain to the southwest, the Arizona weather patterns haven’t changed.

More than 73 percent of the state is still in an exceptional or extreme drought.

Fire danger is still high.

The Arizona State Climate Office said Arizona is in its 21st year of a drought and several large reservoirs are about half full.

Arizona isn’t the only southwest state dealing with this drought.

The Four Corners region – Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah – has been facing an exceptional drought, which is the worst category, according to the Associated Press.

Brian Fuchs, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center in Nebraska, told AP that some areas in the region has missed out on 12 inches of precipitation over the last two years.

This could add up to a year’s worth of rain under normal conditions.

It’s not just rain.

Despite January snow storms in northern Arizona, National Weather Service meteorologist Emily Thorton told KTAR News that at the time, much of northern and northeastern Arizona was in an extreme drought.

KTAR News’ Jim Cross and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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