Cool air aloft creates chilling effect down in the Valley

Temperatures unlikely to climb out of the 60s

If you thought it never quite warmed up in Phoenix on Monday, there was good reason.

Chances are, you were asleep when the city saw its high temperature for the day.

Monday’s official high in Phoenix was only 60 degrees — at 2 a.m.

“It basically dropped through the morning and struggled to rise the rest of the afternoon, but it didn’t get out of the 50s,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Marvin Percha said. “Our afternoon high was 58.”

Reaching a daily high temperature early in the morning isn’t something that happens often around here, Percha said.

The reason behind the unseasonably cool weather (the normal high for Nov. 16 is 75 degrees, while the record for lowest high is 52 degrees, set in 1958) is a strong cold front and low-pressure system that blew through the area Monday.

“(The front) had a lot cooler air aloft than we normally see with these systems this early in the fall,” Percha said. “As a result, it generated a stronger front. Behind the front, we had some strong winds and much cooler temperatures.”

The system also brought breezy conditions and light rain to the Valley Sunday and early Monday. The highest rain totals in the Valley were in northeast Mesa and in the Anthem and New River areas, where between a half and threequarters of an inch of rain was recorded.

Some Valley residents reported seeing hail during the Monday morning commute. Though normally seen in thunderstorms, hail isn’t totally unheard of in rainstorms during cooler weather.

In parts of northern Arizona, the precipitation came in the form of snow.

Alpine saw just over 2 inches of snow by Monday afternoon while about 11⁄2 inches fell at the Flagstaff airport.

The rain and snow began to taper off Monday afternoon, but the front left behind unseasonably cool weather. Parts of northern and southeastern Arizona (including the Tucson area) were under freeze warnings Monday night.

In the Phoenix area, low temperatures were expected to be well below normal (the normal low is 52 degrees, and the record low for Phoenix for Nov. 16 is 32 degrees, set in 1916) but shouldn’t reach freezing in most locations.

“You could see some temperatures near freezing in Pinal County near Coolidge and Casa Grande,” Percha said. “(Tuesday) night will be similar maybe a degree or two warmer.”

The National Weather Service forecast called for lows from 35 to 43 degrees in the Valley Monday night. Today is expected to be sunny with highs from 60 to 63 degrees and lows from 38 to 45.

Highs are expected to between 66 and 70 degrees Wednesday and should approach normal levels on Thursday, with highs in the mid-to-upper 70s.