Will a dry spring follow this dry winter?
This winter has been a big disappointment in terms of Phoenix getting much-needed rain.
A smattering of rain in late February did little to boost rain totals for the city. Phoenix finished the month with 0.52 inch of rain (0.22 of which fell on Feb. 27), according to the National Weather Service.
That brought the total for meteorological winter (December, January and February) up to 0.96 inch at Sky Harbor Airport.
The total ranks as 22nd driest on the all-time list for winter in Phoenix. Normal for that three-month period is 2.71 inches of rain.
While the lack of rain in Phoenix is an issue, the lack of snow in northern Arizona is a bigger problem. Much of the water people use in the Valley comes from snow in the Salt and Verde river areas.
Flagstaff had a little more snow than normal in February, but is well below average for the winter. That city saw 23 inches of snow in February (20.9 inches is average) and 37.3 inches for the winter. Normal snowfall there is 73.2 inches.
That snow deficit is typical of northern Arizona this winter, said Mike Langevin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff.
“We’ve had a little more (snow in Flagstaff),” Langevin said. “Other places are drier than we have been.”
The outlook for more rain and snow doesn’t look good, according to the Climate Prediction Center.
There is a 40 percent probability of below-normal precipitation for the entire state. As far as temperatures are concerned, there is a 60 percent probability of above-average temperatures for the Phoenix area and most of the southern half of the state. For northern Arizona the probability of above-average temperatures is 50 percent.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the entire state is experiencing at least moderate drought conditions.
February weather by the numbers
The average high temperature for Phoenix in February was 71.1 degrees. That’s 0.4 degree warmer than normal. The record for that statistic is 79.9 degrees set in 2016.
Low temperatures were a little below normal for the month. The average low was 48.4 degrees. Normal for that category is 48.7. The record for warmest low is 53.8 in 2015.
The average temperature (taking the average high and low and dividing by 2) was 59.8 degrees, 0.1 degree above normal. The record for that statistic is 66 degrees set in 1991. Normal rainfall for February is 0.92 inch.