Phoenix Weather Report for Nov 23rd, 2020

Phoenix will cool-down as two storm systems move through the valley this week. The first storm will come through tonight.

The Valley will stay dry but expect light rain and snow the high country tonight. Snowfall will be light, with less than an inch expected in areas above 6,000 feet.

Winds are also expected to gain intensity ahead of this first storm with occasional wind gusts near 20 to 25 mph. Wind gusts as high as 35 mph are expected in northern Arizona.

We can expect a cool down by Tuesday with high temperatures falling by nearly 10 degrees, down into the low 70s across the Valley. Our highs will hit the low 70s through Thanksgiving Day and the lows will also be colder, dipping into the 40s each morning.

The second and stronger storm system will move in from the northwest on Thursday and Friday bringing another drop in temperatures, more wind, and another chance for high country snow. While it looks like accumulations will be light again, we’ll see another round of snow in the high country Thursday night into early Friday morning.

The Valley will likely stay dry with this second storm, but our temperatures will drop into the 60s by Friday. High pressure builds back in by the weekend, bumping temperatures back into the low 70s by Saturday and Sunday.

Weather Forecast Maps

Air Quality Forecast

ADEQ Meteorologist: M. Pace

Air quality this weekend was fairly typical. Ozone stayed in the Good range while PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 remained in the Moderate AQI range. There will be a trough moving through this afternoon that may kick up a little dust, but we don’t expect the winds to be strong enough for major dust issues. The highest PM₁₀ levels will continue to predominately be during the morning and evening hours when stagnation is at its strongest. We expect PM₁₀ to remain in the Moderate AQI range through the week.

PM_2.5 will generally follow a similar trend to PM₁₀ with the highest concentrations during the morning and evening hours. However, we anticipate an uptick in PM_2.5 late Wednesday and Thursday due to increased fireplace usage and cooking for Thanksgiving Day. At this time we don’t think we will need to issue a High Pollution Advisory, but we will keep an eye on particulate trends this week and adjust if necessary. Overall, we forecast PM_2.5 to also stay in the Moderate AQI range this week.

Ozone is expected to remain in the Good range through the week as it’s simply too late in the year for ozone to be much of a concern.