By John Simpson
March was actually wetter than February, but still somewhat below average in rainfall. I recorded 0.39” of rain (and melted snow) and my 10-year average is 0.47.” The Tucson airport recorded 0.31,” which is well below the airport’s 30-year average of 0.73.” This was also the 17th straight March that the airport reported below average rainfall. Just about the entire Vail area was below average for precipitation in March, with most areas receiving only between 0.25 and 0.50.” However, many parts of the Tucson area received between 0.50 and 1.00 inches of rain for March. The closer you are to the Catalina Foothills, the more rain you received during March in general (see rainlog.org). Remember, April and May typically yield very little rainfall. There is currently no additional Monsoon forecast information to add to what I reported last month. Vail also had snow during some of these precipitation events in mid-March. Even though it has been very dry these past several months, many of the storm events have resulted in snow for the Vail area.
On the temperature side, March was 0.6 degrees above average and nowhere near record warmth. March was very pleasant this year temperature wise. The dry weather does continue and the past 12 months (April 2020 – March 2021) were the driest consecutive 12 months in Tucson history. The remainder of Spring is still forecast to be warmer than average with equal chances of above or below average rainfall. For next month, I will report on April and provide any further insight into the summer forecast.
John Simpson has lived in southern Arizona the past 33 years and Vail for 17 of those years. John has a bachelor’s degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Missouri and a mster’s degree in Atmospheric Physics from the University of Arizona. He loves exploring the outdoors with his family and photographing weather and the beauty of southern Arizona.
