Big Rain In Southern Arizona

I just sent this to Deborah, who lives in Ahwatukee, in the southern Phoenix metro area:

Hard to believe! 0.83 inches of rain at Ahwatukee in the last 24 hours! Really, for late May, among the driest months of the year, that is unprecedented! I was watching that big rain blow-up last night on the Internet, from Ajo streaming northeastwards into the Phoenix metro area, and it made me very happy!

Indeed, some places are recording records (from the NWS Tucson office):

RECORD EVENT REPORT...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
914 AM MST FRI MAY 23 2008

...RECORD PRECIPITATION RECORDED OVERNIGHT IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA...

SITE RAINFALL LAST RECORD

ORGAN PIPE N.M. 0.40 1992/0.10
SAFFORD AG 0.39 1992/0.15
AJO 1.24 1919/0.05
WILLCOX 0.50 1992/0.32


And for Phoenix Sky Harbor:

RECORD EVENT REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
225 AM MST FRI MAY 23 2008

...RAINFALL RECORD ESTABLISHED FOR PHOENIX FOR TODAY MAY 23RD...
...UNSEASONABLY COLD MORNING UNDERWAY...

THE RAINFALL AT PHOENIX SKY HARBOR AIRPORT SO FAR TODAY HAS TOTALLED /0.11/ OF AN INCH. THIS AMOUNT HAS ALREADY BROKEN THE PREVIOUS RECORD RAINFALL FOR THE DAY...WHICH WAS ONE TENTH OF AN INCH /0.10/ RECORDED BACK IN 1992. THIS IS THE SECOND DAY IN A ROW WITH RECORD RAINFALL IN PHOENIX. IN ADDITION...TODAY HAS BEEN ONLY THE SECOND TIME THAT MEASURABLE RAIN HAS FALLEN ON MAY 23RD SINCE WEATHER RECORDS WERE STARTED BACK IN 1895.

IT HAS ALSO BEEN A VERY COLD START TO THE NEW CALENDAR DAY. THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE SO FAR AT PHOENIX SKY HARBOR AIRPORT HAS BEEN 51 DEGREES. THIS TIES THE THIRD COLDEST MORNING ON RECORD FOR MAY 23RD.
THE COLDEST LOW TEMPERATURE FOR THE DATE IS 49 DEGREES SET IN 1965 AND PREVIOUSLY IN 1927.

Plus yesterday's record event report:

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOENIX AZ
1210 AM MST FRI MAY 23 2008

...RAINFALL RECORD ESTABLISHED FOR PHOENIX FOR MAY 22ND...

THE RAINFALL TOTAL AT PHOENIX SKY HARBOR AIRPORT TOTALLED /0.28/ OF
AN INCH ON THURSDAY. THIS BROKE THE OLD RECORD OF /0.06/ OF AN INCH
SET BACK IN 1919. IN ADDITION...IT WAS ONLY THE THIRD TIME THAT
MEASURABLE RAIN HAS FALLEN ON MAY 22ND SINCE WEATHER RECORDS WERE
STARTED BACK IN 1895.