Aug 26, 2022 - News
Arizona's above-average monsoon season a boon for the water supply
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Arizona is seeing an above-average number of thunderstorms so far this monsoon season — welcome news to residents still scarred by the 2019 and 2020 "non-soons."
Why it matters: An increase in lightning strikes indicates an increase in precipitation, which Arizona relies on during its summer monsoon to refill reservoirs and shore up our water supply.
State of play: The National Weather Service uses the Vaisala National Lightning Detection Network to track cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in Arizona.
- As of Aug. 10, 307,873 lightning strikes touched down across the state.
- That's compared with 203,796 strikes in the 2019 season and just 81,207 in 2020.
What's next: NWS Phoenix meteorologist Tom Frieders tells us to expect a short-term decrease in thunderstorm activity through the middle of next week.
- Things should ramp back up after that, though, and we'll continue to see above-average storm chances through the end of September.