Rainfall for September was generally average for the Vail area. I recorded 1.67” of rain, which is about ¼” below my 12-year average of 1.91.” Rainfall in the Vail readership area ranged from about 1.5” to just over 3.” Mescal reported the higher rain amounts. The Tucson airport recorded 0.81” which is below its 30-year average of 1.32.” Rainfall varied greatly over the Tucson metro area with low ½” rain amounts reported (mainly on the northwest side) to between 5” and 6” in the Green Valley area. Green Valley received over 3” of rain from one storm during the month when moisture from Hurricane Kay moved into the area.
On the temperature side, the Tucson airport recorded the 4th warmest September on record, where the monthly temperature was around 2 degrees warmer than average.
For the entire Monsoon season, the Vail area recorded 6-16” of rain. So, depending on where you are located, rainfall varied from around average to well above average. The table in the next column shows a rough breakdown of rainfall reported in different regions of the Vail readership area. These unofficial amounts are reported to rainlog.org from people like myself. See rainlog.org for reported amounts near your area.
I recorded 9.82” of rain for the season, which is above my 12-year average of 8.31” and my second wettest monsoon the past 12 years. I have only recorded more than 10” of rain during one monsoon season, and that was last year’s incredible season when I recorded 19.30.” The Tucson airport only recorded 4.94” of rain for the season, which is below its 30-year average of 5.69.” I recorded double what the airport recorded and the Vail hot spots that recorded around 15” had triple what the airport had. This is not unusual and one of the reasons why I was attracted to the Vail area.
For the Tucson metro area, rainfall varied from a low of 3-4” (scattered among various parts of town) to a high of around 16” reported in Oro Valley and Vail. On the temperature side, the Tucson Airport reported the 5th warmest Monsoon season on record.
At the time of this writing on October 16th, rainfall has fallen on ½ of the first 16 days in many areas. Average to well above average rainfall for the entire month of October has already fallen, with half the month to go. For next month, I will give a full report on the month of October and discuss what is expected for the winter season.
John Simpson has lived in southern Arizona the past 34 years and Vail for 18 of those years. John has a bachelor’s degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Missouri and a master’s degree in Atmospheric Physics from the U of A. He loves exploring the outdoors with his family and photographing weather and the beauty of southern Arizona.
