...JULY HIGHLIGHTS...
...FLOODWATERS ON 31ST SIMILAR TO 1983 AND 1993 FLOODS...
...ALL-TIME WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED...
...11TH WARMEST AND 5TH WETTEST JULY ON RECORD...
...DROUGHT CONDITIONS STILL SEVERE...

THE SUMMER THUNDERSTORM SEASON...WHICH STARTED ON JUNE 28TH...WAS IN
FULL SWING THROUGH THE 7TH. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY PRODUCED
GUSTY WINDS...SOME OF WHICH WERE SEVERE...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.
THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT BREAK OF THE SEASON OCCURRED BETWEEN THE 8TH
AND 14TH AS STRONG HIGH PRESSURE SETTLED RIGHT OVER SOUTHERN ARIZONA.
THIS KEEP DEEPER MOISTURE SOUTH IN NORTHERN MEXICO. WITH STRONG HIGH
PRESSURE OVERHEAD...THE MERCURY STARTED TO HEAT UP WITH AFTERNOON
HIGH TEMPERATURES BETWEEN 100 AND 107. THE HEAT HUNG AROUND THROUGH
THE 19TH...BUT A LITTLE MOISTURE DID MOVE IN FROM THE SOUTH...WHICH
RESULTED IN A RETURN OF ISOLATED AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS.
HIGH PRESSURE INCREASED OVER THE AREA BETWEEN THE 20TH AND 24TH WHICH
RESULTED IN HIGH TEMPERATURES BEING BETWEEN 106 TO 110 DEGREES WITH
RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES BEING SET ON THE 21ST (110) AND 22ND (108).
DURING THIS PERIOD...THE OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES WERE VERY WARM
AND DID NOT COOL BELOW 80 DEGREES. THE LOW TEMPERATURE ON THE 22ND OF
89 DEGREES WAS THE WARMEST DAILY LOW TEMPERATURE ON RECORD IN TUCSON.
THE OLD RECORD WASS 88 DEGREES WHICH OCCURRED ON JULY 11 1934.

THE LAST SEVEN DAYS OF THE MONTH SAW A DRAMATIC CHANGE IN THE WEATHER
PATTERN WHICH RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL ACROSS THE METRO AREA.
THE FIRST INGREDIENT TO THIS CHANGE WAS MOISTURE FROM TROPICAL STORM
EMILIA...WHICH WAS PUSHED NORTH ACROSS SOUTHERN ARIZONA ON THE 25TH
AND 26TH. THE SECOND INGREDIENT TO THIS CHANGE WAS THE DEVELOPMENT OF
AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IN NEW MEXICO. THIS FEATURE
MEANDERED AROUND DURING THE LAST FOUR DAYS OF THE MONTH AND DEVELOPED
STORMS IN NORTHERN ARIZONA DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS AND PUSHED THEM
SOUTH ACROSS SOUTHEAST ARIZONA DURING LATE EVENING TO EARLY MORNING
HOURS. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED EACH MORNING BETWEEN THE
27TH AND 31ST...WITH THE HEAVIEST RAIN OCCURRING ON THE 29TH AND 31ST.
BOTH DAYS SAW RAINFALL AMOUNTS RANGING FROM ONE TO TWO INCHES WITH
LOCALIZED AREAS OF THREE INCHES ON THE VALLEY FLOOD AND UP TO FOUR TO
SIX INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS. THIS LED TO SIGNIFICANT RUNOFF INTO AREA
WASHES...CREEKS AND RIVERS...WHICH CULMINATED IN FLOWS ON THE 31ST
THAT BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES OF THE FLOODS ON 1983 AND 1993. 

THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE OF 88.3 DEGREES RANKS AS THE 11TH
WARMEST ON RECORD (TIED WITH 1947 AND 1900). TEMPERATURE EXTREMES
RANGED FROM 110 DEGREES ON THE 21ST TO A LOW OF 66 DEGREES ON THE
31ST. THE AVERAGE MONTHLY LOW TEMPERATURE OF 76.9 DEGREES TIED THE
JULY RECORD OF 76.9 DEGREES THAT WAS JUST SET LAST YEAR. THE UNIQUE
ASPECT OF THE TEMPERATURES DURING JULY WAS THE RECORDS THAT WERE SET.
FIRST...TUCSON RECORDED 12 DAYS WITH LOW TEMPERATURES OF 80 DEGREES
OR BETTER WHICH BROKE THE PREVIOUS JULY RECORD OF 8 DAYS (SET IN
1925 & 1915). STREAKS OF FIVE (13TH THRU 17TH) AND SIX (19TH THRU
24TH) CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF 80 DEGREES OR BETTER WERE RECORDED WHICH
RANK AS THE TOP TWO LONGEST STREAKS IN JULY. SECOND...THE RAIN EVENTS
DURING THE LAST FIVE DAYS OF THE MONTH KEPT HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE
80S. THIS TIED THE RECORD FOR THE MOST CONSECUTIVE DAYS IN JULY OF
HIGH TEMPERATURES BELOW 90. THE PREVIOUS OCCURRENCE WAS IN 1912.

RECORDS SET OR TIED DURING JULY...

DATE        TYPE                  NEW RECORD     OLD RECORD            
ALL-TIME WARMEST AVG MONTHLY LOW    76.9      76.9/JULY 2005 (TIED)
ALL-TIME WARMEST DAILY LOW            89        88/JULY 11 1934
ALL-TIME # OF DAYS WITH LOW => 80F    16 DAYS   16/1994 (TIED)
JULY   MONTHLY AVG LOW              76.9      76.9/2005 (TIED)
JULY   WARMEST DAILY LOW              89        88/JULY 11 1934
JULY   MOST DAYS WITH LOW >= 80 F     12 DAYS    8/1925 & 1915
21ST   DAILY HIGH                    110       108/2005
22ND   DAILY HIGH                    108       107/1994 & 1987
22ND   DAILY HIGH MIN                 89        84/2004
23RD   DAILY HIGH MIN                 85        82/1943 & 1932
31ST   DAILY MIN                      66        66/1955 & 1921 & 1905
31ST   RAINFALL                     1.90"    1.43"/1955 & 1921

RAINFALL AMOUNTS ACROSS THE METRO AREA...THANKS IN A LARGE PART TO
WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE LAST FIVE DAYS OF THE MONTH...RANGED FROM
FIVE TO 9 INCHES AT THE LOWER ELEVATIONS AND BETWEEN 10 AND 15
INCHES IN THE SURROUNDING MOUNTAINS. OFFICIALLY THE AIRPORT RECORDED
5.40 INCHES WHICH RANKS AS THE 5TH WETTEST ON RECORD.

TOP 5 WETTEST JULYS    | RAINFALL RECORDED SINCE 1997 (NORMAL 2.07")
 1) 6.24" 1921         |   2006 ... 5.40"    2001 ... 1.09"
 2) 6.17" 1991         |   2005 ... 0.72"    2000 ... 1.59"
 3) 5.53" 1919         |   2004 ... 0.86"    1999 ... 4.15"
 4) 5.45" 1990         |   2003 ... 2.50"    1998 ... 4.06"
 5) 5.40" 2006 **      |   2002 ... 2.47"    1997 ... 0.51"

SELECTED RAINFALL TOTALS ACROSS METRO AREA FOR JULY AND LAST 5 DAYS..

                                           MONTH   JULY 27-31
TUCSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT                5.40"     3.83"
UNIVERSITY OR ARIZONA CAMPUS                6.35"     4:30"
*MOUNT LEMMON                              14.92"    10.91"
*PALISAIDES RANGER STATION                 12.13"     8.31"
*BIG WASH @ RANCHO VISTOSO/ORO VALLEY       7.13"     4.61"
*SABINO CREEK                               8.58"     4.96"
*SABINO CANYON DAM                          9.29"     7.87"
*TANQUE VERDE ROAD @ AQUA CALIENTE WASH     9.02"     7.56"
*MANNING CAMP IN RINCON MOUNTAINS          11.54"     6.50"
*BEAR CANYON ROAD                           9.17"     6.46"
*SABINO CANYON ROAD @ TANQUE VERDE WASH     7.09"     5.00"
*KOLD ROAD @ GOLF LINKS                     6.06"     4.25"
*IRVINGTON ROAD @ PANTANO ROAD              5.00"     4.02"
*HOUGHTON ROAD @ PANTANO WASH               6.89"     4.96"
*RINCON CREEK                               7.44"     5.00"
*ALAMO WASH @ GLENN STREET                  5.12"     2.99"
*SUNRISE ROAD @ COLUMBUS BOULEVARD          6.26"     3.90"
*RILLITO CREEK @ LA CHOLLA BOULEVARD        5.08"     3.31"
*SANTA CRUZ RIVER @ INA ROAD                5.04"     3.31"
*NEAR MARANA AIRPORT                        6.57"     3.03"
*COUNTRY CLUB ROAD @ COLUMBIA STREET        6.26"     3.98"
*NEAR VAIL                                  5.16"     3.70"
*NEAR COLOSSAL CAVE                         5.47"     3.98"
*WILMOT ROAD NEAR PRISON COMPLEX            6.06"     4.25"

* DENOTES PIMA COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT GAGES

RAINFALL RECORDED AT THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON THE 31ST (1.90")
AND 29TH (1.53") RANK AS THE 4TH (TIED WITH JULY 16 1919) AND 11TH
WETTEST JULY DAYS ON RECORD RESPECTIVELY.

TOP 5 WETTEST DAYS OIN JULY
 1) 3.93" JULY 29 1958 (ALL-TIME ONE DAY RECORD)
 2) 2.12" JULY 22 1955
 3) 2.00" JULY 26 1936
 4) 1.90" JULY 31 2006 **
    1.90" JULY 16 1919

...JULY 2006 STATS...          MONTH     NORMAL     DEPARTURE
AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE        99.7      99.6        + 0.1
AVERAGE LOW  TEMPERATURE        76.9      73.4        + 3.5
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE             88.3      86.5        + 1.8
RAINFALL                        5.40"     2.07"      + 3.33"
NUMBER OF 100+ DEGREE HIGHS      19        17         +  2

JULY TEMPERATURES SINCE 1997
       AVG HIGH     AVG LOW     AVG TEMP
2006     99.7        76.9 (1T)    88.3 (11T)
2005    104.2 (3)    76.9 (1T)    90.6 (1)
2004     99.9        73.7         86.8
2003    102.5 (7)    75.9 (4T)    89.2 (5)
2002     99.1        74.5         86.8
2001     97.4        74.9         86.2
2000    101.0        75.3 (15)    88.2 (14T)

NUMBER IN ( ) CORRESPONDS TO ALL-TIME TOP 15 WARMEST JULY RANKING

SUMMER 2006 IS CURRENTLY THE 2ND WARMEST OF RECORD WITH AN AVERAGE
OF 88.3 DEGREES WHICH IS STILL WELL SHY OF THE WARMEST SUMMER ON
RECORD. THE SUMMER OF 1994 HAD AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 89.9
DEGREES.

2006 IS SHAPING UP TO BE YET ANOTHER WARM YEAR WITH THE YEARLY
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE CURRENTLY RANKING AS THE 4TH WARMEST ON RECORD.
THE YEARLY AVERAGE IS BEING AFFECTED BY THE AVERAGE YEARLY LOW
TEMPERATURE...WHICH CURRENTLY STANDS AS THE 2ND WARMEST ON RECORD TO
DATE...BEHIND THE 57.2 AVERAGE OF 2005...WITH AN AVERAGE OF 56.8
DEGREES.

...2006 STATS THRU JULY...      YEAR     NORMAL     DEPARTURE
AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE        85.0      82.6        + 2.4
AVERAGE LOW  TEMPERATURE        56.8      53.8        + 3.0
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE             70.9      68.2        + 2.7
RAINFALL                        6.31"     5.51"      + 0.80"
NUMBER OF 100+ DEGREE HIGHS      47        36         + 11
MONSOON SEASON RAINFALL         5.59"     2.31"      + 3.28"
WATER YEAR RAINFALL (OCT-JUL)   6.63"     8.42"      - 1.79"

...LOOKING AHEAD INTO AUGUST...
THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER FORECASTS THAT THE MONTH OF AUGUST WILL
HAVE SLIGHTLY ENHANCED PROBABILITIES FOR "BELOW NORMAL" TEMPERATURES
AND ENHANCED PROBABILITIES FOR "ABOVE NORMAL" RAINFALL.

AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE ......... 97.4 DEGREES
AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE........... 72.4 DEGREES
AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE ...... 84.9 DEGREES
RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE ..........  112 DEGREES ON AUGUST 1 1993
RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE ...........   55 DEGREES ON AUGUST 20 1917
WARMEST AUGUST (AVG) ............. 90.3 DEGREES IN 1994 
COLDEST AUGUST (AVG) ............. 80.8 DEGREES IN 1923
NORMAL RAINFALL .................. 2.30 INCHES
WETTEST AUGUST DAY ............... 2.88 INCHES ON AUGUST 1 1935
WETTEST AUGUST ................... 7.93 INCHES IN 1955
DRIEST AUGUST .................... 0.08 INCHES IN 1924

THE NUMBER OF DAYLIGHT HOURS WILL DECREASE FROM 13 HOURS 42 MINUTES
ON THE FIRST TO 12 HOURS 51 MINUTES ON THE 31ST...FOR A LOSS OF
51 MINUTES.

GLUECK