ARIZONA, USA — Scattered storms are rolling through the Valley, so we can kiss our sunshine goodbye for the weekend. Rain is moving from the desert southwest towards the high country, lowering temperatures and driving up humidity. Most of the state can expect an 80% rain chance by early evening.
Follow our live coverage of the weekend weather here:
Here’s an hour-by-hour chance for rain in Phoenix on Saturday. The first peak was around 10am-noon and a second is expected during the evening. That is when we’ll have our highest chance of rain.
Further north, in the White Mountains and Flagstaff areas, the arrival time will be a little later in the day because the rain will move in from the south.
Here’s the timeline:
Although the weekend won’t be a total washout, you should keep outdoor plans flexible. The wettest timeframe for the state will be Saturday night into early Sunday. By midday, Sunday showers will taper off in Phoenix, but they will continue north and east.
There is a Flood Watch in effect from Saturday morning through Sunday morning for much of western and Central Arizona. Flooding is our primary severe threat; however, we still could see blowing dust, wind, and even hail within thunderstorms around the state this weekend.
This will be a soaking rain for all of Arizona. The best type of rain to help with our drought is light to moderate rain over a day or two period, which is exactly what we will see this weekend.
The Phoenix metro is close to the rainfall bullseye. Most across the Valley will pick up 1-1.5”. However, there could be some localized pockets that pick up 2”+.
The high country could see as much as 1.5,” and there could even be some localized pockets of 2”. It looks like the heaviest rain will fall between Phoenix, Globe, and Payson.
Despite the great monsoon, we are close to a 3” rain deficit in Phoenix, so this will be very beneficial.
Looking ahead to the end of October, this wetter-than-average trend will continue! There is a 40% chance of above-average precipitation continuing between October 21 and 27.
This is excellent news, considering we will be in a La Nina pattern this winter, which typically means below-average precipitation for the desert southwest.
Arizona Weather
Arizona has seen its fair share of severe weather. Here is a compilation of videos from various storms across the Grand Canyon state.