US Drought Monitor: Some dry spots but most of Arizona not in drought
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The weekly report from the U.S. Drought Monitor was released Thursday, and it shows despite some dry areas, most of Arizona is not in a drought right now.
The map below shows that much of Arizona is covered in yellow, which is considered “abnormally dry” but technically not drought. Notice the light brown area showing “moderate drought” covers a few parts of the state, including eastern Maricopa County and the Phoenix Metro area.
This lines up with recent Phoenix rainfall data. Since the start of monsoon season on June 15, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport has only picked up 0.40″ of rainfall. This is below the normal 1.18″ of rainfall up to this point in the monsoon season.
Of course, Sky Harbor sometimes has bad luck with rainfall. For example, parts of the Phoenix metro area did get rain on Thursday night (0.16″ fell in Gilbert), but nothing fell at Sky Harbor.
Most of Coconino County is in the “abnormally dry” stage, but Flagstaff is actually running an above-normal rainfall tally with 4.41″ since the start of the monsoon. Normal rainfall to this point in the monsoon is 3.66″. This shows that one individual rainfall gauge does not define an entire area when it comes to drought status.
In addition, while rainfall plays a big factor in drought status, it is not the only factor. Other variables that contribute to drought classification include, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor website, “streamflow, reservoir levels, temperature and evaporative demand, soil moisture, and vegetation health.”
While rain is not the only ingredient that determines drought, it would be beneficial if we could squeeze a bit more rainfall out of this monsoon. There will be some rain in the high country this weekend, and there is a chance that some of that rain could make it into the Valley. Let’s hope that we can tap into that rain without the wind and dust.
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