Arizona, Expect A Wetter Monsoon Season This Year

There's one time of year in Arizona where I feel like I'm right back in the Sunshine State. Monsoon season mimics Florida's daily rain showers, bringing in short, powerful storms across the desert nearly every day.

For the past few years, monsoon season has been underwhelming, bringing less and less water to the arid desert. That's about to change this year.

A Wetter Monsoon Season

The Climate Prediction Center and National Weather Service have come to Arizona with a bold prediction: it'll be a hotter, wetter summer than we've been used to. It's expected to see around a 33-50% increase in precipitation and a 40-60% increase in temperature from years past.

Cities like Tucson, Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Douglas are expected to be hit the hardest by this, with changes most likely to hit the eastern-central part of the state the heaviest. The only outlier is Yuma, which seems to be looking forward to more of the same.

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How Do They Know?

Obviously, weather prediction is never 100% accurate, but there are signs that can allow us to make informed guesses. The major selling point this year is soil moisture. For much of the Southwest United States, soil moisture has been heavily below average.

This lower moisture can cause high pressure to be driven up, drastically impacting monsoon patterns. This will likely lead to a greater amount of rain through the season, which the state desperately needs. The season will run from June 15th to September 30th, so make sure you've got a raincoat and umbrella.

[NBC12][NWSTucson via YouTube]