After a few more warm, dry winter days, storm to hit Phoenix area later this week

PHOENIX – The Valley’s recent stretch of warm, dry winter weather is expected to continue for a few more days before a storm brings rain and cooler temperatures to the region later this week.

“We’re looking at a pretty active storm system that’ll move into Arizona, getting into the Phoenix area late Thursday night-Friday morning,” Mark O’Malley of the National Weather Service in Phoenix told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Monday morning.

Unseasonably warm temperatures will continue through Wednesday as afternoon highs warm up into the upper 70s to around 80° each day. Unsettled weather during the latter part of the week will bring much cooler temperatures to the region. #azwx #cawx pic.twitter.com/ElFbY1oV6n

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) January 29, 2024

The Valley forecast calls for highs in the upper 70s, with mostly sunny skies, through Wednesday.

Thursday will be pleasant with a high in the mid-70s and partly sunny skies during the day, but conditions will shift abruptly that night.

“Most of the state will get some amount of rainfall. Not a tremendous amount, but we will take anything we can get,” O’Malley said.

How much rain will it rain in Valley this week?

O’Malley said the system could produce between a 0.05 and 0.75 inches of rain before it clears out.

“There’ll be some showers lingering into Saturday, but, by and large, most of the rainfall will be come and gone by Friday afternoon,” he said.

The storm also will create a significant cooldown for the weekend, with high temperatures in the low 60s expected Friday-Sunday.

After the warm & dry weather through mid week, we are expecting a weather system to bring widespread precipitation to the region later Thursday into Friday. It also seems likely there will be one or two other systems during the following week. #azwx #cawx pic.twitter.com/Fhtp5zZsdK

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) January 28, 2024

The National Weather Service said there’s a good chance one or two more systems will hit the area next week, too.

How much has it rained in Phoenix in January?

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which the NWS uses for the city’s official readings, received 0.73 inches of rain so far this month, just short of the normal total. January will likely end at that mark, with February starting Thursday.

The Valley saw three consecutive days of rain early last week, with Phoenix totaling 0.7 inches Sunday-Tuesday, with highs in the low 60s.

Temperatures started rising as the week progressed, climbing into the 70s over the weekend. Sunday’s high of 78 degrees was 9 degrees above normal for the date.

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

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