The official stats confirm the way it feels: Tucson’s monsoon rainfall is slightly below average so far this summer.
As of Monday afternoon, the city had 1.88 inches since the monsoon season officially began on June 15, all of it in July, the National Weather Service says.
That’s .17 inch below normal for the season so far, as the monsoon approaches its Aug. 7 halfway point.
Last July, the weather service recorded 3.41 inches, nearly 2 inches of which came from a single storm system that knocked out trees and caused damage across central and northwest Tucson.
This month, after a week of dryness that put us behind, chances of rain return this week, with a 20% chance Tuesday, a 30% chance Wednesday and a 40% chance on Thursday, according to the weather service.
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Temperatures are expected to remain in the low hundreds this week, with a high of 104 degrees Tuesday, 103 Wednesday and 100 Thursday before rising to 102 Friday.
“We’re seeing a typical pattern for monsoon throughout the rest of August,†weather service forecaster Kevin Strongman said Monday. “It’s looking like equal chances, so it could be wetter, could be drier, but it’s looking like a typical August pattern.â€
In 2024, the city experienced a split monsoon season — half wet and half dry.
Tucson recorded 5.39 inches of rain in the first half of last year’s monsoon (June 15 to Aug. 8), and just 0.41 inch in the second half (Aug. 9 to Sept. 30), the weather service reported.
Photos: Monsoon 2025 in Tucson
Foot traffic along Congress Street moves under a red monsoon sky as dusk settles over Hotel Congress and downtown Tucson, Ariz., July 18, 2025.
A pedestrian walks by along Church Avenue at Alameda Street with the sun going down after a monsoon storm skirted along the far eastern edge of Tucson, Ariz., before quickly dying out, July 8, 2025.
Kids take a ride on playground equipment at Joaquin Murrieta Park in Tucson, Ariz. under clouds that moved in early in the evening on June 30, 2025.
Pedestrians and cyclists make their way along a rain soaked Stone Avenue as the first significant monsoon storm of the year rolls over Tucson, Ariz., July 2, 2025.
Garrett Asher uses an umbrella to shield himself from the rain during a visit at Reid Park Zoo, 3400 East Zoo Court, Tucson, Ariz., July 16, 2025.
A truck drives through flooded streets as heavy rain showers hit the city of Tucson, West Fort Lowell Road, Tucson, Ariz., July 3, 2025.
Petra Thompson uses a garbage bag to protect her hair from a monsoon storm that rolled over the westside in Tucson, Ariz. on July 2, 2025. Thompson said she her just done her hair and wanted to keep it dry as she crossed Grande Ave at St. Mary’s Road.
Guests explore Reid Park Zoo as rainfall continues through Southern Arizona, 3400 East Zoo Court, Tucson, Ariz., July 16, 2025.
A pedestrian picks his way over the pool gathered in the gutters of Stone Avenue and Pennington Street as rain from the first monsoon storm of the season drops on Tucson, Ariz., July 2, 2025.
A City of Tucson bus rider tries to keep dry as heavy rain and hail hit the city, Oracle and Fort Lowell stop, July 3, 2025.
A cyclists maneuvers through the puddles flooding the bike lane along Stone Avenue as the year’s first monsoon storm drops rain on Tucson, Ariz., July 2, 2025.
People exit Reid Park Zoo as rainfall continues through Southern Arizona, 3400 East Zoo Court, Tucson, Ariz., July 16, 2025.
The "Balancing Act†sculpture poses underneath the dark cloudy skies as rain showers pass through Southern Arizona, 4502 North First Avenue, Tucson, Ariz., July 2, 2025.
Traffic moves along St. Mary’s Road as the first monsoon hits the westside of Tucson, Ariz. on July 2, 2025.
A pedestrian braves the rain, walking along Church Avenue at Pennington Street in the first monsoon storm of the season over Tucson, Ariz., July 2, 2025.
A man crosses Scott Avenue at Pennington Street with the rain falling on Tucson, Ariz., July 2, 2025, in the year’s first monsoon storm.
A pedestrian, equipped for the rain, makes his way along Congress Street in the first monsoon storm of the season over Tucson, Ariz., July 2, 2025.
A man waits for the bus as heavy showers begin to pour in Tucson, North Oracle Road, Tucson, Ariz., July 3, 2025.
Afternoon traffic continues down North Oracle Road, as heavy rain showers hit the city, July 3, 2025.
Dark storm clouds roll through Southern Arizona, North Oracle Road, Tucson, Ariz., July 2, 2025.
