Staff Writer, DL Mullan
Winter Storm / Weather
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Winter storms are set to hit Arizona with a one two three punch. Snow for the high country and rain for the central and lower deserts will start today, then continue with another storm on Friday and a weaker system on Monday.
Forecast Discussion: The initial wave of showers has arrived, albeit light showers. Doppler radar is indicating scattered rain entering the Valley as of 8:00 AM. The scattered nature of rain prevails today. Watch for a general west to east progression of showers tracking over the area. An improvement of air quality values commences when precip and breezes reach our monitors. Around a quarter inch of rain for the day is foreseen. Air quality values shift deeper into the Good AQI range tomorrow with continued wet and breezy conditions. Accumulations in the region do rise more quickly Friday afternoon through early Saturday. The second storm is more dynamical of the two. We could add another half inch plus in the lower deserts. Another feature with the latest storm is wind. Winds are to be quite gusty (20-30+ mph) out of the southwest ahead of and adjacent to the impending cold front. Had it not been for a wet winter to date and measurable rain falling in southeastern California and south-central Arizona in the present, there would have been concern for blowing dust threatening air quality concentrations. Not the case this time. Bring that coat if you are planning on being outside the rest of the week. A third storm reinforces cool weather and rain chances late Sunday/Monday. Any given day, afternoon temps reach low 60s at best.
Source: AirNOW,
