Light rain lands on metro Phoenix, but could get stronger in some areas

PHOENIX – The pitter-patter of rain heard bouncing off rooftops and streets overnight will continue Tuesday morning, forecasters said, then get a little heavier as the day goes on, giving windshield wipers plenty of work to do.

“Some of those showers could be pretty intense,” Austin Jamison with the National Weather Service Phoenix bureau said, including the possibility of hail farther out of the metro area.

[2:32 AM MST] A band of light to moderate showers continues to stream north. Sky Harbor is up to 0.12”, with most of the Valley around this mark. This band should slide E over the next few hrs, but chances for additional spotty showers will carry through the morning. #azwx pic.twitter.com/tLBtJlAA27

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) March 12, 2019

Hail surprised the Valley during a storm Feb. 22, the same storm that dropped 1.01 inches of rain, a record for the date.

Early morning forecasts had light rain falling during the rush hour before tapering off. But there was no getting around it: chances for rain were 100 percent.

Here’s your 7-day forecast via @IrisABC15, Arizona’s most accurate forecast. Tune in to @AZMorningNews for the latest weather news: https://t.co/yZGKw0g8ON pic.twitter.com/TS2EQP9r03

— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) March 12, 2019

The rain that started falling Monday afternoon didn’t amount to much, averaging 0.03 inches. About one-tenth of an inch collected at the Sky Harbor Airport gauge.

Several neighborhoods didn’t get any measurable rain at all. Peoria, Queen Creek and south Phoenix had gray skies but that was it.

(Screenshot/Weather.gov)

When the rain returns midafternoon, some parts of the Valley could see more of a storm than others.

“Some of those showers could be pretty intense for brief periods,” Jamison said.

Rainfall was expected to linger into the evening and head into predawn Wednesday.

The Valley has measured 2.53 inches of rain this year, about a half-inch above average.

KTAR 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.

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