An In-Depth Analysis Of Daily Precipitation Start Times During Monsoon Seasons From 1949-2023 In Tucson, Arizona
Presenter: Roswell Roberts IV P201
Co-Author(s): Martha Whitaker
Advisor(s): Dr Whitaker
1Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences
In the Tucson metropolitan area, there is a commonly-held belief that summer monsoon storm events are starting later in the afternoon than they did decades ago. In particular, many long-time Tucson residents have observed that the start time of the monsoon storms has changed, from starting around 3PM everyday to now starting at about 5pm or later. In response to this potential phenomenon, 73 years (1949-2023) of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Local Climatological Data (NOAA LCD) were obtained from NOAA’s Climatological Data Online (CDO) database. In fall semester 2023, students in HWRS 350 Principles of Hydrology analyzed the frequency of start times of monsoon storms using ranges or “bins” of time that included a fairly large range during the early morning hours, and smaller ranges for times that occurred closer to 3PM: 0:00-10:59; 11:00-13:59; 14:00-16:59; 17:00-19:59; 20:00-23:59. To better understand these trends, all 73 years of monsoon data were processed and different time ranges were applied, from 1-24 hours. The results of these different bin widths (i.e. the number of monsoon storms starting at different times of day) will be presented, which will either lend credence to or refute the seemingly widely-held perception held by long-time Tucson residents.