Storms Bring 1 Inch of Rain or More to North Valley

Storms over the past week brought just over an inch of rain to areas around Anthem,  Tramonto, New River and Desert Hills, with about half that much falling from Sonoran Foothills down to the Norterra area. Roughly half of all that precipitation fell yesterday and last night.

Totals for the past week, according to the Flood Control District of Maricopa County:

It’s not unusual for the mountains to wring more moisture from storms in the northernmost parts of the Valley. Totals rainfall since Nov. 1 now ranges from about 2 inches in the Sonoran Foothills region to roughly 3 inches in the Anthem area and 4 inches in the northern parts of New River.

Historical average rainfall for Deer Valley Airport, where long-term official records are kept, run about 4.71 inches for the four months from November through February. Areas near the mountains typically get around 20 percent more, according to the state climatologist, though long-term records don’t exist.

Meanwhile, most areas of downtown Phoenix have received just 1.5 inches or less since Nov. 1.

Gauges in the mountains several miles northeast of New River recorded 5 to 6 inches during that stretch. One gauge near Crown King, some 20 miles north of Lake Pleasant, recorded 7.87 inches.

The National Weather Service forecast calls for mostly clear skies through Friday, with gradually increasing temperatures after a chilly low of 33 degrees tonight in North Phoenix.

Robert Roy Britt

NoPho resident Robert Roy Britt has written for In&Out publications since its inception in 2005. Britt began his journalism career in New Jersey newspapers in the early 1990s. He later became a science writer and was editor-in-chief of the online media sites Space.com and Live Science. He has written four novels. .