arizona climate summary - arizona state climate office · 2018-10-17 · and snow to arizona, with...

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Arizona Climate Summary February 2017

Summary of conditions for January 2017

January 2017 Temperature and Precipitation Summary January 1st – 18th: The series of low pressure systems that brought rain and snow in December continued through

January. The cold front dropped 4.4” of snow on Flagstaff airport, 3.7” at Bellemont, and 3.0” at Show Low on January

1st and 2nd. Rainfall totals included 0.3” at Bisbee, 0.24” at Davis Monthan AFB, 0.31” at Elgon, 0.12” at Kingman,

0.34” at Nogales, 0.21” at Phoenix AP, 0.44” at Deer Valley AP, 0.11” at Safford, 0.40” at Scottsdale AP, 1.69” at

Carefree, 0.38” at Winslow, 0.38” at Window Rock, 0.53” at Yuma, 1.13” at Bouse, 0.46” at Cottonwood, 1.12” at

Payson, 0.32” at Petrified Forest, and 0.45” at Youngtown. As the front passed, temperatures dropped across the state

with the coldest locations in the upper teens and the warmest areas in the low 70s. The next storm moved into northern

Arizona on the 5th and lasted through the 8th. Snow totals included 0.9” at Alpine, 1.6” at Canyon de Chelly, 3.0” at

Navajo National Monument, 0.3” at Show Low and 1.0” at Williams. Grand Canyon North Rim reported 1.27” of

melted snow. The cold air behind this system dropped temperatures again with the coldest areas in single digits. Grand

Canyon Airport was 1oF on the 6th and Canyon de Chelly was 4oF on the 7th. The next week saw scattered storms, but no

heavy precipitation. The cloud cover brought nighttime temperatures up into the teens and 20s at the higher elevations

and the 50s and 60s in the southwest deserts. The 11th was the next dry day in the state. The next big storm moved into

the state on the 13th, and exited the region on the18th, bringing snowfall to northern Arizona throughout this time. Snow

totals included 3.1” at Bellemont, 8.0” at Navajo National Monument, 1.5” at Alpine, and 1.8” at Flagstaff Airport. The

18th was dry statewide, but nighttime temperatures dropped into the single digits at the coldest locations.

January 19th – 31st: On the 19th, the next low pressure system moved into California and the leading edge brought rain

and snow to Arizona, with the heaviest precipitation in northern Arizona. By the 20th, the storm affected the entire state

and was immediately followed by another cold front that lingered through the 25th, particularly in northern Arizona.

Snowfall was heavy at the higher elevations and rainfall was heavy in the southern counties. Snowfall totals for the two

storms included 4.0” at Alpine, 18.2” at Flagstaff Airport, 20.1” at Bellemont, 29.7” at the north rim of the Grand

Canyon, 18.0” at Navajo National Monument, 7.5” at Seligman, 13.2” at Show Low, 23.0” at Williams, 2.5” at Prescott,

5.5” at Payson, and 3.0” at Springerville. Rainfall totals included 0.63” at Bisbee-Douglas AP, 1.31” at Davis-

Monthan,AFB, 0.71” at Elgin, 0.53” at Nogales, 1.11” at Deer Valley AP, 0.87” at Phoenix AP (0.86” on the 20th was a

new record for that date), 0.94” at Scottsdale AP, 0.39” at Tucson AP, 0.25” at Yuma, 2.25” at Castle Hot Springs, 1.51”

at Carefree, 1.63” at Coronado National Monument, 1.04” at Eloy, and 1.27” at Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache

Junction. The low pressure systems brought extremely cold air into the state with temperatures dropping into the

negative double digits on the 26th, after the last cold front passed through. On the 26th, Bellemont had -12oF, and Grand

Canyon AP had -18 oF on the 26th and -17 oF on the 28th. The cold air remained in place through the end of the month

with the southwest deserts warming into the low 70s while the higher elevations and northern Arizona slowly climbed

into the low 40s. Clear cool conditions dominated the state the last week of the month.

In This Issue: Overview of January, graphs of the January daily maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation,

mean daily dew points for Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson; January climate statistics, maps of mean monthly maximum

and minimum temperatures, precipitation, dew points, wind speeds for January; and graphs of the mean January

temperature and precipitation for the period of record for Tucson, Phoenix, and Flagstaff, graphs of the cumulative

precipitation for the calendar year for Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson. Climate calendars for Flagstaff, Phoenix, Tucson,

Prescott, Winslow and Yuma, including daily and monthly normals and extremes, for each month of the year, can be

downloaded directly from the State Climate website. See p.19 of this report for calendar abbreviations. Data are

preliminary and are from the National Weather Service Forecast Offices in Flagstaff, Phoenix and Tucson. Dr. Nancy J. Selover, State Climatologist

http://azclimate.asu.edu 480-965-6265

Edited by Nancy J. Selover

© 2017 Arizona State Climate Office

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**Note: The discrepancy between the Statewide Temperature and Precipitation values for Phoenix, Flagstaff and

Tucson and the daily values in their graphs are due to the reporting times. Statewide Temperature and Precipitation

values are taken at 5pm, while official daily records at the airports are taken from Midnight to Midnight.

January 2017 Daily Temperature, Precipitation, & Dew Point for Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson

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FLAGSTAFF CLIMATE STATISTICS

January 2017

This January had no significant ranking for

temperature and was the 12th wettest on record.

Avg Max Temp (F) 37.3 Normal 42.5

Avg Min Temp (F) 21.8 Normal 17.3

Avg Mean Temp (F) 29.6 Normal 29.9

Departure from Normal (F) -0.3

Highest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 37.1 in 2003

Lowest Monthly Avg Temp (F) 12.7 in 1937

Highest Temp this month (F): 55 on 31st

Lowest Temp this month (F): -4 on 26th

Record High (F): 66 on 1/30/1971

Record Low (F): -30 on 1/22/1937

Temperature or precipitation records this month:

9th HiMin 34 tied, first set in 2005

14th Precip 0.76” set, previous record 0.42”in 1969

Flagstaff Number of Days of:

Minimum Temp 30oF or higher 8

Minimum Temp 15oF or lower 9

Maximum Temp 40oF or higher 12

Maximum Temp 30oF or lower 7

Heating Degree Days 1090 Normal 1088

Cooling Degree Days 0 Normal 0

Degree base 65oF

Total January Precipitation 4.56”

Normal January Precipitation 2.05”

Departure from normal +2.51”

Greatest 24-Hr Precipitation 0.81” on 1/23-24

Total Precipitation Year-to-Date 4.56”

Departure from Normal +2.51”

Total January Snowfall 43.6” Normal 23.2”

Record January Snowfall 104.8” 1949

Number of Days:

Clear 11

Partly Cloudy 9

Cloudy 11

Greatest January Precipitation 9.55” in 1993

Least January Precipitation: 0.00” in 1972

Average Wind Speed 9.4 mph

Highest Peak Gust 47 mph from 210o on 23rd

PHOENIX CLIMATE STATISTICS

January 2017


temperature or precipitation.

Avg Max Temp(F) 64.1 Normal 67.2

Avg Min Temp(F) 46.1 Normal 45.6

Avg Mean Temp (F) 55.1 Normal 56.4

Departure from Normal (F) -1.3



Highest Temp this month (F) 76 on 30th

Lowest Temp this month (F): 35 on 28th


Record Low (F): 16 on 1/07/1913

Temperature or precipitation records this month:

20th Precip 0.86” set, previous record 0.77” in 1933

Phoenix Number of Days of:







Degree base 65oF




Greatest 24-Hr Precipitation 0.86” on 20th



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Least January Precipitation 0.00” in 1972, 2006,

and 2014 and 8 other years.

Number of Days:

Clear 9

Partly Cloudy 14

Cloudy 8


Highest Peak Gust 37 mph from 250o on 21st

TUCSON CLIMATE STATISTICS

January 2017


temperature or precipitation.

Avg Max Temp(F) 65.0 Normal 65.5

Avg Min Temp(F) 40.8 Normal 39.8

Avg Mean Temp(F) 52.9 Normal 52.6

Departure from Normal (F) +0.3



Highest Temp this month (F): 81 on 8th

Lowest Temp this month (F): 29 on 26th, 27th, 28th


Record Low (F): 6 on 1/07/1913

No temperature and precipitation records this month

Tucson Number of Days of:







Degree base 65oF




Greatest 24-Hr Precipitation 0.54” on 14-15




Least January Precipitation: 0.00” in 1912, 1973,

2014 and 7 other years.

Number of Days:

Clear 18

Partly Cloudy 6

Cloudy 1


Highest Peak Gust 42 mph from 270o on 21st

Data are from the National Weather Service and the

National Climatic Data Center and are preliminary.

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Wind Speeds for January:

Day Phoenix Flagstaff Tucson

(mph) Avg Max Avg Max Avg Max

1 6.2 24 8.4 26 6.2 30

2 5 19 15.1 32 4.5 15

3 3.3 13 8.4 20 3.9 12

4 3.1 13 9.8 24 3.5 16

5 5.6 13 18.4 47 5.3 22

6 6.3 13 7.8 35 5.8 24

7 3.8 17 4.6 26 3.7 14

8 4.3 17 6.6 24 5 20

9 5.7 17 13.8 36 6.9 18

10 3.3 13 14.3 30 4.4 19

11 3.3 15 12.2 29 4.5 14

12 5.6 16 9.1 26 7.6 20

13 4.1 14 3.5 19 5.7 19

14 4.8 17 7.9 22 6.5 33

15 6.1 19 3.5 16 3.2 12

16 3.3 12 1.4 13 3.6 14

17 2.7 12 3.2 22 3.8 17

18 3.9 11 5.5 23 5 17

19 6.3 15 14.7 29 6.2 29

20 8.1 24 16.2 37 14.5 39

21 14.4 37 10 33 12.9 42

22 6.9 15 9.2 25 6.4 15

23 6.5 33 17.6 47 14 36

24 5.3 21 8.8 28 6 26

25 2.9 15 3.9 19 4.5 15

26 4.7 17 5.5 20 5.1 16

27 9.2 29 18.6 43 5.8 22

28 4.2 18 10.4 28 3 14

29 8.8 28 14.4 42 9.4 32

30 3.8 18 3.5 15 8.3 32

31 4.4 13 4.9 19 8 21

Dew Points for January:

Daily Average Dew Point (oF):

Day Phx Tuc Flg

1 41 34 28

2 43 36 28

3 42 38 26

4 42 39 31

5 41 39 20

6 38 35 20

7 35 35 24

8 40 39 31

9 43 37 30

10 42 34 28

11 40 28 30

12 41 27 30

13 44 32 32

14 46 42 32

15 47 46 30

16 44 42 28

17 41 41 25

18 42 38 27

19 45 38 27

20 41 35 24

21 42 35 25

22 40 33 27

23 37 34 21

24 37 31 15

25 31 27 5

26 20 24 5

27 19 19 2

28 20 18 9

29 24 17 12

30 28 20 12

31 28 21 20

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The

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The minimum temperatures ranged from -18oF at Grand Canyon Airport to 42oF at Falcon Field Airport. The lowest maximum temperature of 44oF was

recorded at Snowslide Canyon, while the highest maximum temperature was 83oF at Sahuarito. The highest rainfall amounts were 12.80” at Promontory,

12.00” at Snowslide Canyon, and 11.00” at Workman Creek. The lowest average dew point was 22oF at H.A. Clark Memorial Field and the highest was 43oF

at Buckeye. The highest peak wind gust was 41 mph at Willcox Bench. Average wind speeds ranged from 2 mph at central Phoenix to 14 mph at Laughlin-

Bullhead City.

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T

January 2017

The highest average minimum temperature was 48oF at Yuma, and the lowest average minimum temperature was 15oF at Sunrise Mountain and Grand

Canyon Airport. The highest average maximum temperature was 73oF at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa and the lowest average maximum temperature was

30oF at Bright Angel in the Grand Canyon.

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January

January minimum temperatures were 2 to 8oF warmer than average across the Colorado Plateau, 2 to 6oF warmer than average in west central Arizona, and

within 2oF of average across the rest of the state. Daytime temperatures were 2 to 6oF cooler than normal across the state. Only a small area in central Navajo

County was 0-2oF warmer than normal. Most of Arizona was wetter than normal in January, with the exception of western Pinal and Pima counties and

southern Mohave County.

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Calendar Year 2017

January minimum temperatures were 2 to 8oF warmer than average across the Colorado Plateau, 2 to 6oF warmer than average in west central Arizona, and

within 2oF of average across the rest of the state. Daytime temperatures were 2 to 6oF cooler than normal across the state. Only a small area in central Navajo

County was 0-2oF warmer than normal. Most of Arizona was wetter than normal in January, with the exception of western Pinal and Pima counties and

southern Mohave County.

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2017 Water Year

The 2017 Water Year minimum temperatures are still 2 to 6oF warmer than average across most of the state. Southern Graham, northern Cochise, and

southwestern Pima counties are slightly cooler than normal. Daytime temperatures are 2 to 4oF warmer than average across the Colorado Plateau and the

southern counties. Northern Coconino and eastern Gila counties were a little cooler than normal. The northern 2/3 of Arizona received over 130% of normal

precipitation while Pinal, Pima, Cochise and Santa Cruz counties had less than 70% or normal precipitation

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January Mean Temperature Graphs – Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson 1895-2017:

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January Mean Precipitation Graphs – Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson 1895-2017

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2017 Cumulative Precipitation Graphs – Flagstaff, Phoenix and Tucson:

Flagstaff is 2.51” above normal, Tucson is 0.24” above normal, and Phoenix is 0.19” above normal.

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The downloadable normals and extremes calendars use the following abbreviations:

NORM = 30 year (1971-2000) average value (degrees Fahrenheit (F))

OBS = The temperature observation for that day this year

AVG = Average daily temperature

HI MAX = Highest maximum temperature for that day (F)

LO MAX = Lowest maximum temperature for that day (F)

LO MIN = Lowest minimum temperature for that day (F)

HI MIN = Highest minimum temperature for that day (F)

Mx PCP = Maximum precipitation for that day (inches)

Mx SNO = Maximum snowfall for that day (inches)

arizona climate summary - arizona state climate office · 2018-10-17 · and snow to arizona, with...

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