June Climate Report

Source:  National Weather Service Tucson

June 2009 climate report for Tucson   June 2009 headlines Decade of 2000s headlines Coolest June since 1998 Warmest June decade on record No high temperature of 105° or greater 4th wettest June decade on record 5th warmest January-June period on record   Tucsonans should have no complaints about the temperatures that were experienced during June 2009, especially after the 2nd warmest May on record. Thanks to a persistent area of low pressure over southern California during most of the month, Tucson recorded its first below normal June since 1998 (81.8°). Monsoonal flow developed during the second half of the month with some strong storms hitting the area toward the end of June.   The persistent area of low pressure over southern California had a direct influence on the daily high temperatures during the first 21 days of the month. Starting on the 5th and concluding on the 21st, the high temperature didn't break the century mark, a streak of 17 days which is the fourth longest streak for June. Below is a listing of the top June streaks with sub-100 high temperatures.   Longest June streaks with high temperature less than 100 degrees. Rank # of days Year/Dates Average high temperature 1T) 21 1965 (6/1-21) 92.1° 21 1905 (6/1-21) 91.1° 3) 18 1962 (6/1-18) 93.3° 4T) 17 2009 (6/5-21) 93.9° 17 1913 (6/1-17) 95.0° 17 1907 (6/1-17) 92.8°   The high temperature of 103 degrees on the 22nd was the first day since the 4th that a high temperature was above normal, a streak of 17 days. Below is a listing of the longest streaks (10 days or greater) of below normal high temperatures since 2002 (in chronological order from present to past).   17 days 2009: June 5 to June 21 20 days 2007: July 20 to August 8 17 days 2006: September 2 to September 18 10 days 2006: August 9 to August 18 11 days 2006: July 26 to August 5 13 days 2005: August 7 to August 19 12 days 2005: June 2 to June 13 14 days 2005: January 26 to February 8 14 days 2004: October 21 to November 3 12 days 2004: August 14 to August 25 15 days 2004: January 31st to February 14 10 days 2004: January 20 to January 29 10 days 2003: February 25 to March 6   Monsoonal flow start to increase during the latter part of the month, with thunderstorms moving through the area over the last days of the month. As is typical during monsoon onset, a few storms were severe and produced some damage, especially on the 28th.   June 2009 goes into the record books as the first June since 1998 to be below normal with an average monthly temperature of 82.9 degrees, which is 1.2 degrees below normal. Temperature extremes for the month ranged from a record high of 104 degrees on the 23rd and 24th to a low of 60 degrees on the 12th. One record temperature was tied during June. That occurred on the 19th when, thanks to clouds and showers, the high was only 83 degrees, which tied the record previously set way back in 1921. This was the coolest high temperature during June for Tucson since 1997 when 82 degrees was recorded on the 7th.   On average Tucson hits triple digits 18 times during June. In 2009, only 10 days hit triple digits which is the lowest amount since 1984 when only 9 days were recorded. This is also the first June time since 1984, and ninth time on record, that June didn't record a high temperature of 105 degrees or greater (2009/1984/1983/1975/1965/1964/1963/1947/1905). Below is a table that shows the high temperature breakdown since 2000.   Year 80°-89° 90°-94° 95°-99° 100°-104° 105°+ 2000 2 6 8 10 4 2001 0 3 6 13 8 2002 0 2 4 5 19 2003 0 2 8 13 7 2004 0 3 8 15 4 2005 0 9 4 6 11 2006 0 0 4 18 8 2007 2 2 6 10 10 2008 1 0 9 7 13 2009 1 9 10 10 0   Area rainfall totals for the month ranged from a trace to a half an inch, with localized totals between three-quarters of an inch to 1.33" being recorded in the Catalina foothills. Officially, the International airport recorded a hundredth of an inch which is well below the normal of 0.24".   June 2009 stats Month Normal Departure Average high temperature 96.8° 100.2° - 3.4° Average low temperature 68.9° 68.0° + 0.9° Average temperature 82.9° 84.1° - 1.2° Number of 100+ degree highs 10 18 - 8 Rainfall 0.01" 0.24" - 0.23"   2009 stats thru June Year Normal Departure Average high temperature 82.3° 79.7° + 2.6° Average low temperature 53.2° 50.4° + 2.8° Average temperature 67.8° 65.1° + 2.7° Number of 100+ degree highs 18 21 -3 Rainfall 2.34" 3.44" - 1.10" 2008-09 Water Year rainfall (Oct-June) 3.66" 6.35" - 2.69"         The first half of 2009 goes into the records books as the 5th warmest on record with an average temperature of 67.7 degrees. The warmest January to June period occurred in 1986 when the average temperature was 68.7 degrees. The 2008-2009 water year rainfall total at the airport is currently 2.69 inches below normal. This ranks as the 31st driest water year to date.   June decade in review: the 2000s The month of June during the decade of the 2000s will go into the record books as the warmestand 4th wettest decade on record (dating back to the mid-1890s). The decadal average temperature of 85.8 degrees is 1.1 degrees warmer than the 1990s. Thanks to the 1.56" of rain that was recorded in 2000, the average decadal precipitation of 0.28" doubles what the airport recorded in the 1990s. Decadal average temperatures 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1910s 1900s 85.9° 84.8° 84.7° 83.2° 81.6° 83.7° 82.3° 81.7° 81.2° 81.9° 80.4° Decadal average precipitation 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1910s 1900s 0.28" 0.14" 0.21" 0.24" 0.12" 0.41" 0.15" 0.41" 0.27" 0.31" 0.15"   2006 (88.4°), 2002 (88.0°) and 2008 (87.0°) are ranked as the 3rd, 4th and 6th warmest June'son record respectively. No rain was recorded at the International airport in 2002 (0.00"). Year-by-year statistical recap for Tucson International airport Year Avg. high Avg. Low Avg. Temp Precip. 2000 98.0° 71.2° 84.6° 1.56" 2001 101.2° 69.9° 85.6° 0.54" 2002 103.8° 72.1° 88.0° 0.00" 2003 101.0° 70.4° 85.7° Trace 2004 100.1° 69.5° 84.8° Trace 2005 100.3° 71.0° 85.7° 0.01" 2006 102.4° 74.3° 88.4° 0.50" 2007 101.5° 70.5° 86.0° Trace 2008 102.5° 71.5° 87.0° 0.16" 2009 96.8° 68.9° 82.9° 0.01" 2000s avg. 100.8° 70.9° 85.9° 0.28" 1971-2000 normal 100.2° 68.0° 84.1° 0.24" Click on a year for full climate report previously posted.   The first two graphs below shows the daily departure from normal, or periods of warm/cold, for each June day from 2000 through 2009. The third graph is the departure from normal for the monthly average temperatures. The fourth graph is the departure from normal for the monthly rainfall. (all years compared against 1971-2000 normals except 2000/2001 which were compared to 1961-1990 normals). [Daily highs] [Daily lows] [June average temperatures] [June precipitation] Move your mouse over the locations to change graphics. Click link for larger view.   Temperature extremes for the decade ranged from 111 degrees on June 21, 2008 to 58 degrees on June 10, 2004). Thirteen record temperatures were set/tied this past decade (listing below is in chronological order). However, none of these 13 records were a daily low. The last record low temperature set at the International airport during June was back in 1965 (57° on the 27th). Record type Date Record Previous Year(s) High Minimum June 6, 2000 80° 76° 1895 High Minimum June 8, 2000 78° 75° 1996/1912 High June 1, 2002 105° (tied) 105° 1997/1938 High Minimum June 26, 2002 82° 81° 1970 High June 2, 2004 105° (tied) 105° 1994/1956 High June 20, 2005 110° 109° 1993/1990/1968 High Minimum June 21, 2005 82° (tied) 82° 1996 High Minimum June 22, 2005 83° 82° 1970/1954/1902 High Minimum June 2, 2006 80° 77° 1977 High Minimum June 5, 2006 79° 76° 1957 High Minimum June 24, 2006 82° 81° 1990/1984/1931 High June 17, 2008 109° (tied) 109° 1989/1985/1917 Low Maximum June 19, 2009 83° (tied) 83° 1921   Three rainfall record were set during the 2000s Date Record Previous / Year June 20, 2001 0.33" 0.07" / 1925 June 6, 2006 0.31" 0.08" / 1987   Looking ahead into July The Climate Prediction Center forecasts enhanced probabilities of above normal temperatures and slightly enhanced probabilities for above normal precipitation.     Normal high temperature 99.6° Normal low temperature 73.4° Normal monthly temperature 86.5° Record high temperature 117° on June 26, 1990 Record low temperature 43° on June 4, 1908 Warmest July (avg) 90.6° in 2005 Coldest July (avg) 81.4° in 1912 Normal rainfall 2.07" Wettest July day 3.93" on July 29, 1958 Wettest July 6.24" in 1921 Driest July 0.04" in 1994     The number of daylight hours will increase from 14 hours 13 minutes on the 1st to 13 hours 44 minutes on the 31st, a loss of 29 minutes.   Glueck