...AUGUST AND SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS...
...28TH WETTEST AUGUST ON RECORD...
...ONLY TWO DAYS WITH A HIGH OF 100 DEGREES OR BETTER...
...2ND WETTEST AND 6TH WARMEST SUMMER ON RECORD...

SHORT TERM DROUGHT CONDITIONS EASED DURING AUGUST THANKS TO THE
CONTINUED ACTIVE SUMMER THUNDERSTORM SEASON. ALTHOUGH NOT AS ACTIVE
JULY WAS...AUGUST DID HAVE ITS SHARE OF WEATHER EVENTS. TYPICAL
SUMMER THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY CONTINUED THROUGH MUCH OF AUGUST WITH
A DRYING SPELL TAKING PLACE DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE MONTH.

THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE OF 83.7 DEGREES WAS JUST OVER ONE
DEGREE BELOW NORMAL. THIS MARKED THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE AUGUST THAT
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS BELOW NORMAL. TEMPERATURE EXTREMES RANGED
FROM A HIGH OF 100 DEGREES ON THE 8TH AND 28TH TO A LOW OF 69 DEGREES
ON THE 16TH...26TH AND 28TH. THERE WERE ONLY TWO DAYS WITH A HIGH OF
100 DEGREES OR BETTER WHICH IS THE LEAST AMOUNT TO OCCUR IN AUGUST
SINCE 1974 (2) AND MARKED THE 14TH AUGUST ON RECORD (SINCE 1895) THAT
TWO OR LESS DAYS HAD A HIGH OF 100 DEGREES OR BETTER.

LEAST AMOUNT OF DAYS IN AUGUST WITH HIGHS OF 100 DEGREES OR BETTER...
ZERO DAYS ... 1923/1963/1968/1971
ONE DAY ..... 1908/1955
TWO DAYS .... 1897/1904/1921/1959/1964/1966/1974/2006

RAINFALL AMOUNTS ACROSS THE METRO AREA RANGED FROM ONE TO FOUR INCHES
WITH UP TO NINE INCHES BEING RECORDED IN THE CATALINA MOUNTAINS.
OFFICIALLY THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT RECORDED SLIGHTLY MORE THAN
THREE INCHES OF RAIN. 

...AUGUST 2006 STATS...        MONTH     NORMAL     DEPARTURE
AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE        94.0      97.4        - 3.4
AVERAGE LOW  TEMPERATURE        73.4      72.4        + 1.0
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE             83.7      84.9        - 1.2
RAINFALL                        3.01"     2.30"      + 0.71"
NUMBER OF 100+ DEGREE HIGHS      2         12         - 10

SUMMER 2006 WAS ANOTHER WARM ONE WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 86.8
DEGREES WHICH RANKS AS THE 6TH WARMEST SUMMER ON RECORD. MOST NOTABLE
DURING SUMMER 2006 WAS THE AMOUNT OF RAINFALL THAT WAS RECORDED
ACROSS THE METRO AREA. THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT OFFICIALLY RECORDED
JUST UNDER NINE INCHES /8.91"/ WHICH RANKS AS THE 2ND WETTEST SUMMER
ON RECORD. THE WETTEST SUMMER ON RECORD OCCURED IN 1955 WHEN OVER
THIRTEEN INCHES /13.06"/ OF RAIN FELL.

SUMMER RAINFALL TOTALS SINCE 1996 (NORMAL IS 4.61")...
2006 ... 8.91"     2001 ... 2.48"     1996 ... 3.75"
2005 ... 5.25"     2000 ... 4.85"     1995 ... 3.75"
2004 ... 1.81"     1999 ... 7.36"     1994 ... 1.12"
2003 ... 4.54"     1998 ... 5.76"     1993 ... 5.21"
2002 ... 4.10"     1997 ... 2.85"     1992 ... 5.55"

AS IS ALWAYS THE CASE WITH SUMMER THUNDERSTORMS...RAINFALL TOTALS
VARIED WIDELY ACROSS THE METRO AREA. THE FOLLOWING ARE SELECTED
LOCATIONS ACROSS EASTERN PIMA COUNTY (TOTALS COURTESY OF THE PIMA
COUNTY FLOOD CONTROK DISTRICT)...

CDO WASH DRAINAGE BASIN...
BIG WASH/RANCHO VISTOSO (ORO VALLEY) .. 8.74"
MOORE ROAD/LA CHOLLA BLVD .............10.43"
SOUTH ORO VALLEY ...................... 7.05"
CATALINA STATE PARK ...................11.97"
GOLDER RANCH BRIDGE (CATALINA) ........ 8.74"
CATALINA MOUNTAINS (ABOVE 5000 FEET) .. 15"-21"
CDO WASH @ INA ROAD ................... 6.22"

TANQUE VERDE DRAINAGE BASIN...
SABINO CANYON DAM .....................12.28"
VENTANA CANYON ........................13.23"
SABINO CANYON @ TANQUE VERDE BRIDGE ... 8.27"
AGUA CALIENTE @ HOUGHTON ..............11.38"
TANQUE VERDE RANCH .................... 9.25"

PANTANO WASH/RINCON CREEK...
PANTANO WASH @ HOUGHTON ............... 9.06"
GOLF LINKS @ KOLB ROAD ................ 8.66"
RINCON CREEK (NEAR RINCON MTNS) ....... 7.56"
MANNING CAMP (ABOVE 5000 FEET).........16.46"
RANCHO DEL LAGO ....................... 7.72"

SANTA CRUZ RIVER & RILLITO BASINS...
TUCSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT .......... 8.91"
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA CAMPUS .......... 7.93"
NEAR MARANA AIRPORT ................... 7.32"
SANTA CRUZ RIVER @ INA ROAD ........... 7.40"
RILLITO @ LA CHOLLA BLVD .............. 6.77"
ALAMO WASH @ GLENN .................... 6.42"
SANTA CRUZ RIVER @ VALENCIA ........... 6.10"
COUNTRY CLUB AND COLUMBIA STREET ...... 8.50"
WILLMOT ROAD NEAR PRISON .............. 8.58"

...SUMMER 2006 STATS...       SEASON     NORMAL     DEPARTURE
AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE        98.7      99.1        - 0.4
AVERAGE LOW  TEMPERATURE        74.9      71.3        + 3.6
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE             86.8      85.2        + 1.6
RAINFALL                        8.91"     4.61"      + 4.30"
NUMBER OF 100+ DEGREE HIGHS      47        46          + 1

2006 CONTINUES TO BE A WARM YEAR WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 72.6
DEGREES. THIS IS TWO AND A HALF DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL THRU AUGUST
AND RANKS AS THE 5TH WARMEST YEAR TO DATE. THE AVERAGE YEARLY LOW
TEMPERATURE OF 58.9 DEGREES RANKS AS THE 2ND WARMEST ON RECORD. THE
RECORD IS 59.2 DEGREES WHICH WAS SET LAST YEAR.

...2006 STATS THRU AUGUST...    YEAR     NORMAL     DEPARTURE 
AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE        86.2      84.1        + 2.1
AVERAGE LOW  TEMPERATURE        58.9      55.9        + 3.0
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE             72.6      70.0        + 2.6
NUMBER OF 100+ DEGREE HIGHS      49        49            0 
RAINFALL                        9.32"     7.81"      + 1.51"
MONSOON SEASON RAINFALL         8.60"     4.61"      + 3.99" 
2005-06 WATER YEAR RAINFALL     9.64"    10.72"      - 1.08"

EVEN THOUGH THE SUMMER WAS THE 2ND WETTEST ON RECORD...IT WAS NOT
ENOUGH TO OVERCOME THE VERY DRY PERIOD THAT STARTED LAST SEPTEMBER
AND CONTINUED INTO EARLY JUNE. THUS WITH ONE MONTH REMAINING IN THE
WATER YEAR...THE AIRPORT IS JUST OVER ONE INCH BELOW NORMAL.

...LOOKING AHEAD INTO SEPTEMBER...
THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER FORECASTS THAT THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER
WILL HAVE EQUAL CHANCES FOR ABOVE OR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND
ENHANCED PROBABLITIES FOR ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL. FALL 2006 SEASON
WILL HAVE EHHANCED PROBABILTIES FOR ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND
EQUAL CHANCES FOR ABOVE OR BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL.

AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE ......... 94.0 DEGREES
AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE........... 67.7 DEGREES
AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE ...... 80.9 DEGREES
RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE ..........  107 DEGREES ON SEPTEMBER 14 2000
                                             (LAST OF 9 OCCURRENCES)
RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE ...........   43 DEGREES ON SEPTEMBER 26 1913
WARMEST SEPTEMBER (AVG) .......... 84.8 DEGREES IN 2000
COLDEST SEPTEMBER (AVG) .......... 76.3 DEGREES IN 1964
NORMAL RAINFALL .................. 1.45 INCHES
WETTEST SEPTEMBER DAY ............ 2.85 INCHES ON SEPTEMBER 10 1964
WETTEST SEPTEMBER ................ 5.11 INCHES IN 1964
DRIEST SEPTEMBER ................. 0.00 INCHES IN 1953

THE NUMBER OF DAYLIGHT HOURS WILL DECREASE FROM 12 HOURS 49 MINUTES
ON THE 1ST TO 11 HOURS 53 MINUTES ON THE 30TH...A LOSS OF 56 MINUTES. 
FALL BEGINS ON THE 22ND AT 9:03 PM MST WHEN THE SUN BEGINS TO CROSS 
THE EQUATOR INTO THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.

GLUECK