Many Arizonans are waiting for the summer monsoon, hoping it can temper the state’s record-breaking heat wave. Through our Q&AZ reporting project, one listener wanted to know how long the monsoon typically lasts.
There is an official monsoon season, which the National Weather Service designates from June 15 to Sept. 30. Although that’s a good gauge for the typical monsoon season, Phoenix meteorologist Jessica Leffel says Mother Nature is never that precise.
“That does not mean that monsoon-related thunderstorms can only occur during that time frame. They can absolutely occur outside of that time range as well. It’s just typically during those dates when we’ll see the majority of our monsoonal thunderstorm pattern develop,” Leffel said.
And for weather purists, Leffel says yes, “monsoon season” is redundant.
“Because monsoon is a season. So it would essentially be saying season season, but yes, a monsoon is a season itself," Leffel said.
