by John Simpson
Photos by John Simpson
Rainfall for the month of September varied greatly, as expected, across Vail and Tucson. For Vail, Corona was the big winner with well over 3 inches reported. Civano, Central Del Lago, and I-10 / Kolb reported just over an inch to 1.25 inches. North of Cienega Creek and east of Colossal Cave road reported just over 2 inches and Mescal reported about 2.5 to 3.25 inches. The New Tucson area (South of Andrada, East of Wentworth, and North of Sahuarita Road came in with 2-3 inches. There were no reports for Rita Ranch. The big winner for the Tucson Metro area was Green Valley, where 3-5 inches of rain fell. Most of this (three inches or more) fell on September 19th when the remnants of a tropical depression enhanced rainfall in the area. I recorded 1.24 inches of rain, which is well below my eight-year average of 2.00 inches for September. The Tucson airport recorded 1.14 inches, which is just below their 30-year average of 1.29 inches. The airport also recorded the warmest September on record, and this year is now the warmest to date since records started in the 1880s. For the entire monsoon, I recorded 6.91 inches, which is below my eight-year average of 7.78 inches and the second driest monsoon I have recorded the past eight years. The airport recorded 7.02 inches of rain for the monsoon, which is about an inch above its 30-year average of 6.08 inches. Monsoon rainfall totals for other areas in Vail and across the state are listed below:
Monsoon Rainfall (June 15 – September 30) Please note the * denotes unofficial rainlog.org reports
Rainfall in Inches
Mescal 10-13 inches *
Civano 7-8.5 inches *
I-10 & Kolb 8 inches *
Central Del Lago 6.5 – 7 inches *
Whisper Ranch 7-8 inches *
Coyote Creek 8.5-9 inches *
Cienega Creek / Colossal Cave (East) 9.5 inches *
New Tucson 5.5-6.5 inches *
Green Valley 10-12 inches *
Tucson Airport 7.02 inches
Phoenix Airport 2.63 inches
Flagstaff Airport 9.97 inches
Looking ahead to October and fall, the remnants of Hurricane Rosa brought widespread rain to Arizona on October 1st and 2nd and other storm systems are forecasted to affect the area. With a mild El Nino setting up, the forecast is calling for chances of above average rainfall. On next month’s report I will discuss October and the impact of tropical systems on Arizona during the monsoon and fall.
