February 2023 climate report for Tucson |
54th coolest and 60th wettest on record |
Windy month with the monthly average wind speed the highest since the mid-1990s |
Highest February peak wind gust at airport in past 50 years |
Monthly average temperature below normal for the 4th February in the past 5 |
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The February outlook for Tucson, issued on January 31st by the Climate Prediction Center, slightly favored above-normal monthly mean temperatures (35% above vs 32% below) and favored below-normal total precipitation amounts (43% below vs 24% above).
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The month was dominated by an active weather pattern that resulted in a roller-coaster ride in temperatures and an unusual number of windy days for February. This was thanks to a handful of winter storms that moved across the area that brought precipitation in the form of valley rain and mountain snow and on occasion, snow down to the valley floor (14th, 15th & 26th). The most significant winter storms occurred on the 14th-15th, 17th, 21st-22nd & 26th.
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The highest February wind gust recorded at the airport prior to this year in the past 50 years was 48 mph on February 24, 1998. This was exceeded twice this month. First on the 17th when a 49 mph gust was recorded and then on the 22nd when a strong cold front swept across the metro area with the airport recording a wind gust of 51 mph. Overall the monthly average wind speed of 8.7 mph was the highest since the early 1990s. There were five days that recorded a wind gust of 45 mph or greater. In the 1973-2022 period, there were only nine such days. |
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The monthly average temperature of 53.3° is 2.9° below normal and ranks as the 54th coolest February on record. This is the fourth February in the last five years that the average monthly temperature was below normal. Temperature extremes for the month ranged from a high of 80° on the 5th to a low of 28° on the 16th.
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Precipitation across the metro area, using several sources like rainlog.org, the Pima County Regional Flood Control District gages and CoCoRaHS, ranged from 0.40" to 1.80" with the highest totals mainly occurring north of the Rillito River. The International airport, which is the official recording spot in Tucson, recorded 0.59" which is a quarter of an inch below normal and ranks as the 60th wettest February on record. |
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February 2023 stats |
Month
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Normal
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Departure
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Average high temperature |
66.2°
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69.2°
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- 3.0°
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Average low temperature |
40.4°
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43.2°
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- 2.8°
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Average temperature |
53.3°
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56.2°
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- 2.9°
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Precipitation |
0.59"
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0.84"
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- 0.25"
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Snowfall |
0.5"
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0.1"
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+ 0.4"
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# of days with lows 32° or colder |
1
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2
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- 1
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Period of record: 129 years (1895-2023)
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Winter 2022-2023 climate report for Tucson |
54th warmest and 26th wettest on record |
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La Niña conditions that were present during the previous two winter seasons (December through February) continued into a third straight winter. This would be the third occurrence since 1950 that La Niña conditions would be present in the equatorial Pacific for three consecutive winters (1973-74 to 1975-76 & 1998-99 to 2000-01). Based on past La Niña impacts during the winter season, the temperature and precipitation outlook for Tucson, issued November 17th by the Climate Prediction Center, called for the following:
- a 23% chance that the seasonal mean temperatures will be below normal
- a 44% chance that the seasonal mean temperatures will be above normal
- a 43% chance that the seasonal total precipitation will be below normal
- a 24% chance that the seasonal total precipitation will be above normal
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There were several active periods this past winter that helped shape the season. Those active periods were 1) the first half of December; 2) the start of January 2023; 3) mid-January; and 4) the second half of February. The numerous winter storms that moved across the area brought much-needed precipitation in the form of valley rain and mountain snow and on occasion, snow down to the valley floor. This helped improve drought conditions across the metro area from moderate classification at the start of winter to no drought classification at the end of winter. |
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The seasonal average temperature of 53.0° is 1.3° below normal and goes into the record books as the 54th warmest on record, tied with Winter 1910-11 & Winter 1968-69. Temperature extremes ranged from a high of 80° on January 13th & February 5th to a low of 27° on January 26th. Ten days recorded freezing low temperatures at the airport, which is normal. However, this is two more days than what occurred during the previous two winter seasons combined. Additionally, there were two record temperatures that were established. They were:
- A record warm low temperature on December 4 (59°; old record 56° in 1946)
- A record high temperature on January 13 (80°; old record 78° in 1928, 2000, 2006 & 2018)
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Precipitation across the metro area, using several sources like rainlog.org, the Pima County Regional Flood Control District gages, and CoCoRaHS, ranged widely from 2.50" to 6.50" with the highest totals occurring in Oro Valley and along the Catalina foothills. The Tucson International airport, which is the official recording location in Tucson, recorded 3.62" which is just under one inch above normal and ranks as the 26th wettest Winter season on record.
Dating back to 1950, there have been twenty-five occurrences that La Niña conditions were present during climatological winter. Winter 2022-23 became only the 2nd La Niña winter to record above-normal seasonal precipitation. The other occurrence was Winter 1984-85 when 6.09" was recorded. Note: Winter seasonal total precipitation for the twenty-five La Niñas were compared to the 30-year climatological normal total for Tucson at the time of occurrence.
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Winter 2022-2023 |
Season
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Normal
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Departure
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Average high temperature |
65.7°
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67.0°
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- 1.3°
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Average low temperature |
40.2°
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41.5°
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- 1.3°
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Average temperature |
53.0°
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54.3°
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- 1.3°
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Precipitation |
3.62"
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2.64"
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+ 0.98"
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Snowfall |
0.5"
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0.1"
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+ 0.4"
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# of days with lows 32° or colder |
10
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10
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0
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Period of record: 129 years (1895-2023)
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2023 |
The yearly mean temperature of 52.4° is around 2.5° below normal and ranks as the 59th coolest January/February period on record.
Precipitation across the metro area has ranged widely from 1.50" to 4.50" during the first two months of the year. The Tucson International airport, the official recording location in Tucson, has recorded 2.35" which is three-quarters of an inch above normal and ranks as the 32nd wettest January/February period on record.
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Looking ahead into March |
The March outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for Tucson slightly favors below-normal monthly mean temperatures (34% below vs 33% above) and above-normal total precipitation amounts (37% above vs 30% below).
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Normal monthly high temperature |
75.8° |
Normal monthly low temperature |
48.0° |
Normal monthly temperature |
61.9° |
Record high temperature |
99° on March 26, 1988 |
Record low temperature |
20° on March 4, 1965 |
Warmest March (avg.) |
67.9° in 2017 |
Coldest March (avg.) |
51.5° in 1973 |
Normal rainfall |
0.56" |
Wettest March day |
1.42" on March 25, 1903 |
Wettest March |
3.88" in 1905 |
Driest March |
0.00" in 1895, 1928, 1933, 1956 & 1984 |
Snowiest March |
6.0" in 1922 |
Daily normals | Daily records |
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The number of daylight hours will increase from 11 hours 29 minutes 59 seconds on the 1st to 12 hours 29 minutes 22 seconds on the 31st, a gain of 59 minutes 23 seconds. |
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Looking ahead into Spring |
The Spring season outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for Tucson favors above-normal seasonal mean temperatures (46% above vs 21% below) and below-normal total precipitation amounts (41% below vs 26% above).
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Normal seasonal high temperature |
83.5° |
Normal seasonal low temperature |
54.3° |
Normal seasonal temperature |
68.9° |
Warmest Spring (avg.) |
72.1° in 1989 |
Coldest Spring (avg.) |
59.0° in 1905 |
Normal Spring rainfall |
1.00" |
Wettest Spring |
7.43" in 1905 |
Driest Spring |
Trace in 2018 |
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The vernal equinox, otherwise known as the beginning of spring, will occur on March 20th at 2:24 PM when the sun crosses into the northern hemisphere. |
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Glueck |