Climate and Weather in the Sonoran Desert

By Sarah Weber

As one of the most biodiverse deserts on Earth, the Sonoran Desert also has one of the most unique climates. Much of the ecology is shaped by its two distinct rainy seasons: the monsoon season which occurs from July to September and another more gentle rainy period in the winter. These two rainy seasons provide enough moisture to support a substantial variety of plants and several small trees to thrive in the desert as well as wildlife.

A monsoon storm over Tuzigoot National Monument / Source: National Park Service
                                           

To further explore the climate and weather in the Sonoran Desert, I recommend the following resources:

Climate (National Park Service) provides a general overview of the climate in the Sonoran Desert as well as links to specific monitoring sites based on past years.

Climate Analyzer is an interactive website to create custom graphs and tables from historical and current weather center data based on several parameters. This can be useful for looking at past weather behavior in a particular area. Note: This data is U.S. only.

Zoom Earth is an interactive website designed to explore current weather and view forecasts through rain, wind, temperature, and pressure layers. Data is global and near real-time.

Climate Data Mapper uses NOAA data and is particularly useful for visualizing changes to an area over time based on many parameters including temperature, sea rise, vegetation, and more.

The Climate Explorer provides a number of ways to view past and projected climate conditions. The data is more focused on city or county rather than a region. 

Weather.gov for standard current and forecasted weather.



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