Light rain bathes much of metro Phoenix with possibility of thunderstorms, hail

PHOENIX — Periodic rain sprayed over much of metro Phoenix Friday morning with more widespread showers bathing the Valley in rain during the early afternoon.

“We’re going to be seeing some active weather conditions, so people who are going to be doing outdoor activities need to pay close attention to the weather conditions. It’s going to get pretty stormy as we head into the afternoon,” Gabriel Lojero of the National Weather Service (NWS) in Phoenix told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Friday morning.

Lojero said there could be waves of showers through the day, with the heaviest activity starting around noon or 1 p.m., as storms move in from the south.

“And with those showers there could actually be isolated thunderstorms, as well. Now some of this thunderstorm activity could produce some small hail, most likely pea size,” he said.

5:15 PM MST Radar: The main area of showers earlier this afternoon has moved off to the north and east of Phoenix. However, there is one more broken band of showers moving up from the south. An embedded thunderstorm is possible. The activity should pass north by 7-8 PM MST. #azwx pic.twitter.com/hICtuQZPDu

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) March 16, 2024

Phoenix saw an average of 0.18 inches of rain as of 8 p.m., NWS data found. Parts of the West Valley saw the lightest rain, while parts of Scottsdale and Tempe got as much as 0.59 of rain.

Lojero also said there could be strong wind gusts up to 35 mph during the day, with possible lightning strikes where thunderstorms develop.

The day’s high temperature, which was measured at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport since that’s what NWS uses for Phoenix’s official readings, was 63 degrees.

That’s 15 degrees below the normal temperature, NWS said.

How much rain is expected to fall in Phoenix on Friday?

The activity started Thursday night, when Sky Harbor saw 0.1 inches of rain. Another 0.1 inches had fallen by 6:30 a.m. Friday.

The highest daily rainfall at the Phoenix airport this year was 0.41 inches on Jan. 23. The total for the year is slightly ahead of normal so far, Lojero said, but there might not be much more precipitation after Friday until the Valley’s monsoon season starts in June.

“We still have probably a shot of maybe a couple of more rainfall events for the next couple of weeks,” Lojero said. “And then once we head into early April, that’s when the the dry season starts here.”

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

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