November 1, 2017

No Rain Fell in Tucson in October, Officially

It was the 12th time the Weather Service recorded no rainfall for the month.

Tucson Cityscape City Lights Night hero Looking across the city of Tucson from Tumamoc Hill.
Sandra Westdahl, AZPM

October 2017 will go down in the Tucson weather record books as recording no rainfall, despite a storm that produced some moisture earlier in the week.

There was rainfall and plenty of lightning in parts of the Tucson metropolitan area late Monday into Tuesday morning, just not where it counts — at Tucson International Airport.

John Glueck of the National Weather Service said no rain is a rare occurrence for an October, but not the first time it’s happened.

“It would be the 12th October on record with not a drop of rain at the official recording spot in Tucson,” he said.

Glueck said the last measurable precipitation at the airport occurred Sept. 8, when 0.03 inches were recorded.

Tucson’s official rainfall total to date is just over 10 inches, about normal for the first 10 months of the year.

Arizona Science Desk
This story is from the Arizona Science Desk, a collaborative of the state's public radio stations, including NPR 89.1. Read more from the Arizona Science Desk.
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