Rain, rising temperatures in forecast
The end is in sight for those early morning temperatures at or near freezing in the Phoenix area, according to the National Weather Service.
Morning low temperatures are expected to warm up as the week progresses into the weekend, the weather service reported.
The low temperature on Thursday morning in Phoenix was 36 degrees with several other areas experiencing their third straight day of low temperatures at or near freezing, the weather service tweeted. In Mesa and Casa Grande, the morning low was 32 degrees.
The good news, meteorologists say, is that early morning temperatures will warm up. In the Phoenix area, early morning lows will be in the upper 30s and nearly 40 today, the low 40s on Saturday and mid-40s to nearly 50 by Sunday, the weather service says.
The forecast calls for sunny or mostly sunny conditions through Sunday in the Phoenix area with daytime high temperatures reaching the mid-70s for the weekend.
But the pleasant weather doesn’t last long. By Monday, a storm system moves into the state with forecasters calling for 50% chance of rain on Monday into Tuesday in the Phoenix area. By Tuesday night, rain chances drop to 20%.
“This system isn`t shaping up to be quite as cold as the one that cooled us down so much this week. But we will definitely drop below normal,” the weather service forecast stated.
For communities at higher elevations, snow accumulations will remain above 4,000 feet and any significant snow should be above 5,000 feet, according to the weather service.