Arizona closes out hot, dry January
Jan 31, 2014, 10:37 AM | Updated: 11:32 am
PHOENIX — It’s been a warm, dry January around the state of Arizona.
The National Weather Service said, with the exception of Jan. 10, every day of the month has seen above-normal temperatures in Phoenix. Since Jan. 13, every day has been 70 or above with a peak of 81 on Jan. 21.
Friday’s forecast calls for 69 degrees, which would equal the normal temperature for this day. If that holds up, January 2014 will go down in the books as a month with no days with below normal temperatures.
Sky Harbor hasn’t had rain since Dec. 20 and Flagstaff is just as dry.
It had been 39 consecutive days without any precipitation, dating back to Dec. 21, tying the city’s winter dry-spell record which was set in 1917.
A trace of mixed snow and rain at the Flagstaff airport busted the streak Thursday. A trace of moisture is usually not a cause for celebration, but with some of the worst snowfall rates in a century, Ben Peterson with the National Weather Service said this has been a long time coming.
“I’ve been here 15 years and we’ve had a couple of streaks that pushed this record but nothing like this,” he said.
Flagstaff will get more snow Friday. Peterson said this storm doesn’t hold a lot, but when you’ve gone without precipitation this long they’ll take every drop they can get.
Sunrise Park near Greer, Ariz. is also hoping for fresh snow this weekend.
