Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
It’s the question some — if not most — people ask around the beginning of a conversation, especially when visiting with someone they haven’t seen in some time or who lives in a different part of a state or country.
How’s the weather?
Well, in Arizona, the answer in 2019 varies after a roller-coaster-like weather pattern that has seen record snow in the north and a cooler spring in the Phoenix metro area than in recent memory.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the majority of Arizona saw its mean temperature percentiles in June remain near average, with some parts of the state experiencing above average temperatures. That includes west and southwest Arizona, where communities there experienced no precipitation. Most of the state was either at or below average in precipitation during the month.
But June’s lack of rain was not enough to dry out Arizona’s increase in precipitation during the first half of 2019. The NOAA reports nearly all of the state experienced above average precipitation, with the northeastern areas of the state, to include the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff areas, experiencing “much above average” precipitation.
“Precipitation across the western U.S. during the first several months of 2019 was the result of a very active weather pattern,” said Karin L. Gleason, meteorologist with the NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. “Multiple atmospheric rivers approached the West Coast and traveled eastward into the central U.S. rather than north into the Pacific Northwest. This brought an abundance of both rain and snow to much of the West, Southwest, and central U.S.”
Wet conditions from July 2018 through June 2019 resulted in a new 12-month precipitation record in the contiguous U.S., with an average of 37.86 inches (7.90 inches above average), according to scientists at the NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.
It’s the third consecutive time in 2019 (April, May and June) the past 12-month precipitation record has hit an all-time high.
According to the NOAA’s National Weather Service, new daily rainfall records were set at most available Rio Grande Valley climate recording locations, including Harlingen, Texas, with 6.29 inches of rain — about three times the monthly average.
“The contiguous U.S. has had a persistent and active weather pattern in 2019 (and also in late 2018), which brought ongoing precipitation across much of the country,” Ms. Gleason said. “For the year-to-date, wildfire activity is actually below average, despite the fact that we saw fires on the increase in June. There are a number of large fires active across Alaska and we are seeing a number of them scattered across the Southwest and West, as well.”
The average precipitation for June was 3.30 inches (0.37 of an inch above average), placing it in the upper third in the record books. Flooding conditions persisted along the central and Lower Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers.
The average June temperature across the contiguous U.S. was 68.7 degrees (0.2 degrees above average), ranking in the middle third of the 125-year record. Eleven states along the Pacific, Gulf, New England and the Mid-Atlantic coasts had much-above-average temperatures.
Drought was a mixed bag. About 3.2% of the contiguous U.S. was in drought, down from 5.3% at the start of June. However, drought conditions worsened across parts of the Pacific Northwest and Puerto Rico.
“It depends on where you live and what you do for a living,” Ms. Gleason said about whether the drought decrease is a good sign for the county. “If you raise cattle and your field is not under water, chances are your pastures are fairly green and lush. If you are a farmer and live in a region which has been wet nearly the whole year, you may not have been able to plant your 2019 crop.
“Anytime a region experiences weather conditions for a prolonged period of time which are out of the realm of normal, it causes stress to infrastructure, agriculture, wildlife, human life, and so on. This could be prolonged wetness, drought, extreme heat, or unseasonably cold temperatures. Typically, most communities are resilient when extremes do not persist for too long or become too extreme.”
Alaska, the northernmost state, had its second “hottest” June on record, with an average temperature of 54 degrees (4.8 degrees above average.)
By the halfway mark of 2019, the U.S. has had six billion-dollar disasters on the books, including four destructive severe storms and two flooding events. Since these records began in 1980, the U.S. has sustained 250 separate weather and climate disasters where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion — based on the CPI adjustment to 2019 — per event. The total cost of these 250 events exceeds $1.7 trillion.
While rain drenched Arizona the first half of 2019, the summer months don’t appear as giving, with temperatures in the Valley expected to exceed 110 degrees today.
Paul Iñiguez, science & operations officer with the NOAA and National Weather Service in Phoenix, said as such earlier this year when talking about the Valley’s unusually cool spring months.
“There's little connection between spring temperatures and the following summer temperatures,” he told the Daily Independent. “Over the past several decades, our temperatures have been steadily changing, showing a strong upward trend (i.e. climate change).”
He also said the latest projections from the NOAA Climate Prediction Center indicated increased odds for above normal temperatures this summer.
“That does not rule out that temperatures could be cooler than normal, but the odds are stacked against it,” Mr. Iñiguez added. “Despite this, we know we will certainly have hot days.”
An excessive heat warning had been issued for Gila and Maricopa counties from 10 a.m. Thursday to 8 p.m. today, with temperatures in Yuma County and the Phoenix metro area to range between 107 and 119 degrees.
People are encouraged to limit outdoor activity, and check on at-risk friends, family and neighbors at least two times each day.
With the possibility for vehicles to become disabled due to the heat, the Arizona Department of Transportation offers the following tips for motorists:
Have extra drinking water for everyone in the vehicle, including pets, an umbrella for shade and a fully-charged cellphone.
Take a cooler to keep extra drinking water cold, and consider adding several frozen bottles of water to use for cooling off or to thaw and drink if needed.
If you must spend extended time along a highway due to a breakdown or some other delay, you’ll need sun protection. In addition to an umbrella, take sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat and wear loose-fitting, light-colored cotton clothing.
Check the air conditioner and coolant levels, top off any vital engine fluids and make sure your battery is up to par. Check your tire pressure, as the combination of under-inflated or over-inflated tires and hot pavement can lead to a blowout.
Keep your tank at least three-quarters full. Running out of gas, especially in a remote location, is dangerous in extreme heat.
If your vehicle breaks down, call for assistance right away to reduce your wait, and run the air conditioning. If your vehicle’s air conditioner isn’t working, roll down all windows.
If you become stranded along the highway in extreme heat:
Avoid parking in tall brush. A vehicle’s undercarriage is very hot and can ignite grass and other vegetation.
Drink water. Make sure everyone, including pets, stays hydrated.
If the temperature inside your vehicle becomes too hot, everyone, including pets, should exit carefully and seek out or create a shaded area as far away from the travel lanes as possible.
Be careful walking on the road surface, which can be hot enough to burn skin. Keep your shoes on and try to keep your pets’ paws off the pavement.
By 
