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Climate of 2002 - June Arizona Drought National Climatic Data Center, 15 July 2002 |
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Arizona has been especially hard hit by drought. While it is difficult to define drought in a desert environment, the state has experienced unusually dry weather for the last ten consecutive months. In June 2002, the statewide Palmer Hydrological Drought Index reached its severest level (in magnitude, but not in duration) since the early 1900's. The large urban areas have not been as impacted by the drought as the rural areas, where lakes and reservoirs are low (Arizona Republic) and agriculture has been seriously affected. According to the USDA, 82% of Arizona's pasture and range land was rated in the poor to very poor category by early July. Based on July 2 USGS observations as summarized by the National Weather Service, 12% of 57 streamflow sites in the state set new all-time record lows for streamflow.
Several wildfires developed during June, with the Rodeo-Chediski fire rapidly growing to become the largest wildfire in Arizona history. According to media reports (MSNBC, July 8), the massive wildfire:
According to the USDA-NWS Joint Agricultural Weather Facility (JAWF), Tucson, AZ, closed the month of June with its 93rd consecutive day without a drop of rain. The previous record there, 90 days, had been established in 1909. A trace of rain last fell in Tucson on March 29, and measurable rain last fell on March 18, when 0.01 inch (0.3 mm) fell. Tucson also set records for the driest April-June (no precipitation; previously a trace in 1996 and 1987) and July-June (4.22 inches [107 mm] for the 12-month period, edging the 1973-74 record of 4.24 inches [108 mm]). |
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NCDC /
Clim. Monitoring /
Climate-2002 /
Jun /
U.S. Regional Drought /
Search /
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Last Updated Friday, 15-Jul-2005 09:18:35 EDT by Richard.Heim@noaa.gov
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