Phoenix is famous for its dry, desert climate, but the city is now nearing a record for its longest stretch ever without rain.
As of Monday, Phoenix has had 151 dry days in a row. There has been no measurable rainfall at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport since Aug. 22.
National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Worley said that’s the second-longest Phoenix has ever gone without rain.
“The longest streak is 160 days and that was set back in 1972, but the current forecast does not call for any decent rain chances over the next several days, so we’re getting closer and closer to potentially breaking that longest dry streak,” Worley said.
The period from late August to late January would typically bring more than 3 inches of rain to the Valley, according to National Weather Service data.
The extremely dry conditions follow a number of other recent weather records for Phoenix. 2024 was Phoenix's hottest year on record and last summer brought the Valley's longest-ever consecutive stretch of days above 100 degrees.
The National Weather Service forecasts most of Arizona is likely to continue to see below-average precipitation at least through April.
