Phoenix has officially exceeded the average for total annual rainfall with a weather system expected to bring more showers and cooler temperatures to the Valley this week.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport recorded 7.71 inches of rain as of 8 a.m. on Nov. 18 — slightly above the 7.22-inch average, according to Ryan Worley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Phoenix office.
Worley said it was difficult to predict which parts of the Valley would receive the most rainfall, but that some areas could see anywhere between 0.75 to 1 inch of rain.
“Not everywhere is going to see rain totals in that range,” Worley said. “It’s even possible some places might remain fairly dry and see significantly less rainfall than in that total, but that’s kind of the general picture we’re seeing right now.”
If lightning were to strike, Worley said it likely would be sporadic.
The storms are expected to bring cooler-than-average temperatures to an abnormally warm November, Worley said. Highs are forecast for the high-60s and low-70s before eventually reaching the mid-60s toward the middle of the week, about 10 degrees below the average.
“Certainly a noticeable cooldown for the area considering how warm we’ve been — even to start the month of November where we were off to one of our hottest starts to the month of November on record,” Worley said. “So this will be a nice cooldown for people as we head into the next few days.”
Risk of adverse weather conditions — such as lightning or flooding — were relatively low as Worley estimated chances of the latter were less than 5%.
