Water Woes XLIX Monsoon 2026-What Is Normal?
This video records a monsoon storm that came through the Tortolita Preserve on August 19, 2026. Wind-Lighting-Rain!
The 2026 Monsoon Season started on 6/15/26 and ended on 9/30/26. The data shows there is much monsoon precipitation variability across Southern Arizona.
Tucson Airport precipitation data is sometimes referred to as the "official" precipitation/monsoon data for the region. The Haywood Plot below shows the Monsoon Rainfall Data for the period 1895-2026. According to this data, the 2026 Monsoon Season precipitation at Tucson Airport was 5.76 inches, compared to the normal precipitation of 5.69 inches for the recent period 1991-2020 (black line).
But hold the phone! Tortolita Alliance (TA) official rain gauge at the Tortolita Preserve (north side) had a total of 10.4 inches of rainfall for the 2026 Monsoon. This is 4.64 inches greater than Tucson Airport! How can this be?
The National Weather Service-Tucson (NWS) also reports monsoon rainfall totals for other Southern Arizona locations as shown on the attached graph. This graph shows the wide variability of monsoon rainfall across the region. Therefore, 10.4 inches of rain for the 2026 Monsoon at the Tortolita Preserve is certainly reasonable.
