2022 Monsoon in Cochise County is Best in YEARS

2022 MONSOON SEASON BEGINS

While the rest of the country swelters and melts under a record heat wave, our little corner of Arizona has experienced one of the sweetest monsoons in recent history. While last year’s monsoon was pretty good, this year’s season has eclipsed the recent record.

I’ve been here for a while, and I remember hearing people talk about tracking the dew point to figure out when the monsoons were supposed to begin, so I decided to explore when and why this changed.

DATES VS. DEW POINTS: HOW WE DETERMINE THE START OF MONSOONS

Back in 2008, The National Weather Service started tracking the monsoon using begin and end dates rather than the dew point rule. So now, the time period between June 15^th to September 30^th is considered Southeastern Arizona’s monsoon season; before 2008, meteorologists considered the beginning of the season when the daily dew point average reached 55ºF or higher for three days in a row.

‘BUT IT’S SO HOT IN ARIZONA!’

I have a lot of friends and family who live in other parts of the country, and one thing they tell me again and again is that they could never live in Arizona because it’s so hot. I just smile and nod and tell them, “Yes, it’s rough here in the summer.” I leave out the part where our relatively low humidity and cooler temperatures when the afternoon monsoons roll in, do, in fact, make this a MUCH better place to live than anywhere in the Midwest. Or the South. Or…well, just about anywhere. When they see reported temps for Arizona, they only get a glimpse of the Phoenix temperatures and assume it’s 115 degrees EVERYWHERE in Arizona all the time.

That’s fine with me! I love it here! Let’s keep this little nugget to ourselves, okay?

If you’d like to see how much rain we’ve gotten so far this year, check out  the University of Arizona's Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) website.