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Driest Monsoon Ever? Probably. 2019 On Track To Be Driest Ever

1.02 inches. That’s how much rain the National Weather Service has recorded for this monsoon. We’re on track to beat the current record for driest monsoon ever: 1.72 inches of rain in 2009.

Megan Taylor is with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff. The abnormally dry monsoon is likely to blame for the busy fire season.

“We’re seeing an increase in fire activity because we’ve been so dry,” Taylor said. “(Usually) this time of year we see a lot more cloud cover, we see rain showers, and thunderstorms and higher humidity levels.”

Fortunately, a wet and snowy winter has kept this dry monsoon from turning into a disaster.

“We had a pretty good water year,” she said. “For the water year, which starts in October, we’re still above average.”

The average monsoon brings about 8 inches of rain and lasts until the end of September — so we may catch up.

“If we don’t get much more, we’re going to be well behind what we should be,” Taylor said.

Scott Bourque was a reporter and podcast producer at KJZZ from 2019 to 2022.