Monsoon season starts with rainier outlook

Monsoon season starts with rainier outlook

Data: National Weather Service; Chart: Jessica Boehm/Axios

Monsoon season is officially underway and meteorologists are hopeful that the Valley's in store for a rainier summer than usual.

Why it matters: About half of our annual rainfall typically arrives during monsoon season, which began Monday and runs through Sept. 30.

  • While one good monsoon season won't fix the decades-long "megadrought" we're in, it can replenish groundwater and keep our plants and wildlife healthy.

    • State of play: The season began with a (short-lived) bang — at least for those who live on the Valley's edges.

  • Isolated showers popped up in parts of the Valley Monday morning, delivering a lot of thunder and a little bit of rain, National Weather Service Phoenix meteorologist Alicia Ryan tells us.
  • Parts of south Phoenix, Ahwatukee, Buckeye, New River, Queen Creek and San Tan Valley saw between 0.04 and 0.35 inches, per Maricopa County Flood Control District rain gauges.

    • What we're watching: NWS' Climate Prediction Center says there's a 33–40% chance of above-normal rainfall this summer.

  • Monsoon season is expected to get a boost from El Niño conditions, which occur when surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean are warmer than normal.
  • Some meteorologists are predicting a "super El Niño," with even more extreme weather.

    • Reality check: Ryan cautioned that the predictions are just that, and that it's much too early to take them to the bank.

  • The center also predicted a wetter-than-normal summer last year, but the season actually saw average rainfall, she said.