Grab Your Umbrellas — First Monsoon Storm Expected to Rain Down on Phoenix Next Week

Grab your umbrellas and get excited, people, because the National Weather Service says the Phoenix area could get some monsoon activity as early as Monday or Tuesday. As the Tucson area experiences thunderstorms throughout the weekend, that moisture will continue to make its way north and increase the chances of...

By Miriam Wasser

June 24, 2016

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Grab your umbrellas and get excited, people, because the National Weather Service says the Phoenix area could get some monsoon activity as early as Monday or Tuesday.

As the Tucson area experiences thunderstorms throughout the weekend, that moisture will continue to make its way north and increase the chances of precipitation and thunderstorms in the Valley, explains National Weather Service meteorologist Bianca Hernandez.

First dust event of Monsoon 2016 from ADEQ cam...Visibility dropped to about a mile. #azwx pic.twitter.com/ClLEJVg7ox
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) June 24, 2016

"We're just starting to see an increase in moisture [in Phoenix]," she says, adding that while "we won't have precipitation over the weekend, the chances of rain will be about 15-20 percent by Monday [and] we could see some monsoon storms develop early next week and into Thursday."

Meanwhile, between now and then, there's a really good chance we'll get more gusty (and possibly dusty) winds like those that descended on Phoenix around 5 p.m. last night. Technically called outflows, these are the gusts that radiate outwards from a storm system and often pick up dust as they move.

Monsoon moisture/clouds not far away as seen in this satellite loop. Expect desert storms in the near future. #azwx pic.twitter.com/0cFKk2Dj0y
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) June 24, 2016

Hernandez says yesterday's thunderstorms in Tucson sent dusty outflows northward towards the Valley, reducing visibility to a mile, and there's a very good chance the same thing will happen this afternoon and throughout the weekend.

(Remember, the Arizona Department of Transportation doesn't use the catchy hashtag #PullAsideStayAlive for nothing – driving into a dust storm is a bad and potentially very dangerous idea.)

T-storms over SE AZ this afternoon will struggle to make it to PHX. Instead, wind and dust more likely. #azwx pic.twitter.com/imjCmtIBf7
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) June 24, 2016

Want a little bit more good news?

Starting Wednesday or Thursday, it should be a little cooler outside – we're still talking 105 to 110, Hernandez says, but compared to 118, well, it's practically sweater weather…

Check out some cool graphics of the monsoon storms in Tucson, and get pumped for next week!

Isolated storms starting to develop ovr the hier terrain of SE AZ. Areal coverage of storms to incr this aftn. #azwx pic.twitter.com/mkSZrDxZQH
— NWS Tucson (@NWSTucson) June 24, 2016

1235 pm. 3-D view of strong thunderstorm in a remote area NE of Lochiel in SE Santa Cruz County. #azwx pic.twitter.com/j2VSYMoMIP
— NWS Tucson (@NWSTucson) June 24, 2016

6:05 AM: Isolated showers with mainly sprinkles west of #Tucson. Slow cell movement thru 8 AM. #azwx pic.twitter.com/8EqHd248oi
— NWS Tucson (@NWSTucson) June 24, 2016

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