Weather Blog: Wettest month living up to expectations

We are almost through our first full week of July, yet it feels more like April or September with the cooler temperatures we’ve been experiencing over the past week.

After a brutal start to summer with seven consecutive days of triple digit heat (19 so far), the monsoonal pattern began to set in with high pressure to our east and low pressure to our west. This is a typical monsoonal pattern, but it appears that this year’s pattern, at least in July, has been more beneficial to the Borderland than in previous years.

On average, El Paso receives 5.25″ of rain from June through September (monsoon season). However, since 2008, we’ve only averaged 4.69″ of rain. This year, El Paso has only received 0.29″, all in July alone. The good news is that there is still a way to go this season and the weather pattern is shaping up to be a wet one for the next week.

Here’s a look at average rainfall totals per month courtesy of the National Weather Service:

Notice how we are in an upward trend as far as rainfall totals are concerned and peak in late July and early August.

To view rainfall totals from a different perspective, we take a look at CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network) rain gauges.

Here’s a look at some of the totals from the CoCoRaHS rain gauges since 7AM July 4th:

Notice how different parts of El Paso, especially Far East on July 4, can receive much more rainfall than other locations. The difference in rainfall totals from location to location is what makes the North American Monsoon so unique. Unlike other parts of the country where rainfall totals are more uniform throughout the city (Houston, Dallas, Chicago), the Desert Southwest notices a much more scattered total in which “hit-and-miss” showers are a constant.

If you would like to find out more about CoCoRaHS or perhaps join the network, click the following link:http://www.cocorahs.org