Weather Outlook
Date & Time: 9/28/2023 @ 8:55 AM MST
Forecaster: Malloy, J.
Synopsis:
Top Outlook Takeaways:
• Triple digit and upper 90s heat likely through Saturday.
• Very windy on Saturday.
• Turning much cooler for Sunday-Tuesday.
• No rain anticipated.
Forecast is on track. Hot and tranquil late workweek weather transitions to windier/slightly cooler conditions Saturday before turning much cooler for Sunday-Tuesday. Quite the contrast considering Phoenix hit 106°F on Wednesday only to be in the mid to upper 80s starting Sunday. The 17-20 degree or so difference in daily maximums, and a taste of autumn, is from colder air moving south out of the Great Basin region (i.e., associated with upper level low pressure troughing). An unseasonably cool air mass and suppressed high pressure south of AZ is sluggish to change through Tuesday. This gives a chance for morning minimums in the 70s through Saturday to eventually dip into the 60s for Downtown Phoenix by Monday (mid-50s for places like Wickenburg). The evolving weather pattern in the coming days for the County remains moisture starved with relatively dry surface dewpoints fluctuating in the 20s-40s, so no rain is expected (even cloud development may be difficult to come by). Overall, a nice outdoor extended forecast is shaping up if you don’t mind a windy period on Saturday (southwesterly gusts 30-40mph possible) when the low pressure trough first swings into the region. Winds that strong are capable of localized blowing dust and when combined with a very dry air mass enhances a regional wildfire threat.
Today’s Almanac:
Sunrise-Sunset (Moon Phase) – 6:20am-6:16pm (Full Moon)