By John Simpson
Much of the area saw thunderstorms during the late afternoon and early evening of April 16th. This rare April treat brought highly variable rainfall amounts to the area. The big winner was near highway 83 on the East side of Vail where a line of Thunderstorms “trained” over the same area. Well over one inch of rain fell in this area, which is well above average for April. Much of the rest of the area received between 0.1” and 0.3” which is average to below average.
At my home in Central Del Lago, I received 0.22,” which is just below my eight-year average of 0.27.” The Tucson airport received 0.07,” well below its 30-year average of 0.31.” April 16th was the only day
precipitation fell for the month.
Limited rainfall is normal for April and the wildflowers started their typical spring drying. For much of the country, April showers bring May flowers, but in Southern Arizona, fall and winter rains bring March flowers, that dry in April.
On the temperature side, the Tucson airport was above average and recorded the 16th warmest April on record. The 0.07” of rain that did fall was the 47th driest, indicating April rainfall is usually sparse. May is typically the driest month of the year and spring the driest season. The Tucson area only averages about 1.25” of rain for the entire spring season (March to May) and so far, we are somewhat behind unless May is unusually wet. For next month’s article, I will wrap up May and the entire spring season and hopefully have some insight into how the summer monsoon will shape up.
