Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Tucson, AZ
Issued by NWS Tucson, AZ
972 FXUS65 KTWC 292010 AFDTWC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tucson AZ 110 PM MST Fri May 29 2026 .SYNOPSIS... High temperatures today and Saturday will be 6 to 10 degrees below normal across Southeast Arizona. Winds will also be breezy today leading to elevated fire weather conditions. Temperatures heat back up to normal to just above normal Sunday into next week. Moisture also makes its way into the region next week leading to thunderstorm chances Tuesday through Thursday east of Tucson. && .DISCUSSION... The low pressure system that is keeping Southeast Arizona in the 80s is currently to the north of the area in the Great basin. Outside of temperatures, the main impact with this system is the breezy winds. As of 1 pm, the highest wind gusts have been mostly 25-35 mph in the eastern valleys, with a recorded gust of 44 mph in Willcox. These winds will begin to decrease and taper off at or around sunset. As this system begins to exit the region to the northeast of the area tomorrow, the area will remain breezy, however will be less than today. This system will keep high temperatures `cooler` tomorrow and below normal in the mid 80s to low 90s. Once this system passes, a ridge begins to build over Texas, introducing southwest to southerly flow, allowing for temperatures begin to increase Sunday into next week. This increase brings back the chances for temperatures in the 100s early to mid next week, with current NBM probabilities of Tucson reaching 100 degrees at 25% Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Depending on how the high pressure sets up, determining the overall upper level flow, some moisture may be advected and moved into the region mid next week. As of now, much of this moisture is in the eastern valleys, introducing afternoon and evening shower and thunderstorm chances (15-50%), with the highest chances in the White Mountains and Sky Islands. && .AVIATION... Valid through 31/00Z. SKC. SFC winds SLY/SWLY 12-20 kts with gusts 25-30 kts until 30/03z then decrease to less than 10 kts overnight. SFC winds become WLY/NWLY at 8 to 12 kts with occasional gusts up to 20 kts aft 30/20Z thru the end of the period. Aviation discussion not updated for TAF amendments. && .FIRE WEATHER... Warm with dry conditions across Southeast Arizona into early next week. An abnormally cool upper-low residing across central California will result in below normal temperatures across Southeast Arizona today and Saturday. This system will also bring breezy to locally windy 20-foot winds from the southwest 12 to 20 mph with gusts 25 to 35 mph. This will result in elevated/near-critical fire weather conditions today east of Tucson. Min RH values will be in the 7-18 percent range in the valleys and in the 14-20 percent range in the mountains through next week. By the middle of next week, there is some potential for showers and thunderstorms east of Tucson. && .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ JT Visit us on Facebook, X, YouTube, and at weather.gov/Tucson