![]() How much water is left in the Colorado River? Scientists and officials are scrambling to find out The Colorado River flows underneath the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge downstream from the Hoover Dam on April 3, 2023. There’s a chance Phoenix will receive rainfall at some point Friday or Saturday, meaning the 160-day record might not be broken. How long Phoenix’s dry spell will last depends on a brewing stormy setup later this week across portions of the Southwest, including eastern and central Arizona. Minimal rainfall has led to abnormal dryness and drought across at least 95% of New Mexico and 85% of Arizona, the US Drought Monitor reported last week. ![]() Flagstaff, Arizona, has recorded about 30% of its typical rainfall since monsoon season began and Albuquerque, New Mexico, has only seen around 20%. Phoenix isn’t the only city missing out on most of its monsoon rainfall. The longest dry stretch on record for Phoenix stands at 160 days and occurred more than 60 years ago from December 29, 1971, to June 6, 1972. Monday marked 145 consecutive days without measurable precipitation, further cementing Phoenix’s second-longest dry streak on record. Nothing more than a trace of rain has been recorded at the city’s official reporting station since March 22. These rainfall totals account for at most 10 to 25% of what typically falls during July, and occurred across only a fraction of the city’s footprint.Īnd Phoenix’s rainfall woes have been growing well before the normal start to the monsoon, NWS data shows. ![]() That rainfall was light, according to NWS data, only amounting to between 0.1 to 0.2 inches across the two days. Only 30 to 40% of the Phoenix metro area experienced the rain, said Alex Young, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Phoenix. Parts of Phoenix did see rain on two days in July, but because it didn’t fall at the city’s official reporting station, it didn’t count toward city records. (Kirby Lee via AP) Kirby Lee/APįeds ease water cuts on Colorado River after blockbuster winter This lack of rainfall during a critical time of the year has for weeks enhanced the region’s exceptional heat and expanding drought.Ī general overall aerial view of Lake Mead along the Nevada and Arizona border, Tuesday, July 11, 2023. The North American monsoon provides parts of the Southwest 40 to 75% of its annual rainfall, but many cities across the region are pacing 50 to 80% behind average rainfall amounts since June 15, when the monsoon typically begins. Monsoons – which occur in several continents – are seasonal shifts in wind direction that transports moisture into the region. The troubling new milestone is emblematic of a much larger problem in the Southwest, which relies on the monsoon for much of its rain. Phoenix is experiencing its driest start to summer after recording no measurable rainfall Monday, a new record for the latest start to the region’s monsoon in the city. Yet another record has fallen in this summer’s extreme-weather epicenter of Phoenix, but this one is doing more than fueling the heat – it’s a sign of a much more widespread issue developing in the Southwest.
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