Arizona Water Resource September-October 2005

This year's monsoon season may have been a late bloomer but was typical in most other respects. According to the National Weather Service Office in Tucson, the July 1 8 starting date was one of the latest on record, second only to a July 25 date in 1987. This year's tardy monsoon was due to a ridge of high pressure centered over northwestern Mexico that prevented moisture moving into Arizona and New Mexico. Although the monsoon started late, it gained loss ground with a heavy August rainfall.