Why We Have Dates for the Arizona Monsoon

In 2008, the National Weather Service decided to start the Arizona Monsoon every summer on June 15 and end it on September 30. Before that, forecasters tracked dewpoints and looked for three consecutive days of dewpoints of 55-degrees or more to decide the “monsoon had arrived” for the year. Tony Haffer, who spearheaded the change, was the head of the National Weather Service office in Phoenix at the time and talked with Royal Norman on the latest installment of the First Alert Beyond the Green Screen Podcast.

First Alert Weather's Beyond the Green Screen is a show that covers not only weather and climate but also other interesting topics related to Arizona. The Arizona's Family First Alert Weather team uses this platform to explore subjects such as astronomy, desert gardening, our landscape, our precious resources, and more. It's a forum that allows us to go beyond the forecast, which is why it's called First Alert Weather's Beyond the Green Screen.