Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Tucson, AZ

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890 FXUS65 KTWC 070840 AFDTWC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Tucson AZ 140 AM MST Tue May 7 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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A typical May weather regime for southeast Arizona. Expect dry weather with breezy to locally windy conditions, especially east of Tucson today and Wednesday. Expect less wind later in the week into the weekend with typical afternoon gustiness. High temperatures near normal for much of this week, then several degrees above normal this weekend.
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&& .DISCUSSION...
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Clear skies this morning and starting off chilly after the below normal temperatures yesterday. The cool down was short lived as highs rebound today to seasonable levels. Our weather pattern is dominated by dry westerly flow aloft as the main storm track remains to our north. The gradient will remain tight enough in this pattern to result in breezy to locally windy afternoon winds both today and Wednesday. The strongest winds will be east of Tucson including along the NM border where sustained winds today of 15 to 25 mph are expected with higher gusts. There will be a slight uptick in winds Wednesday compared to today. We`ve been keeping a close eye on the trends with these winds as it relates to fire weather concerns. At this time, the duration, strength and geographical extent of the winds are just below critical levels east of Tucson, thus no fire weather headlines at this time. Otherwise, still some breezes Thursday, then less wind into the weekend as dry weather continues. Ensembles are showing a broad weak upper low to our north Friday into the weekend but no real discernible sensible weather impacts for us as dry westerly flow continues and temperatures nudge up to a few degrees above seasonal normals.
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&& .AVIATION...
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Valid through 08/12Z. Clear skies/SKC conditions thru the forecast period. SFC wind less than 12 kts and variable in direction thru 07/18Z. Aft 07/18Z, SFC wind SWLY thru NWLY at 12-20 kts and gusts to 20-30 kts, with the strongest wind to the east of KTUS. SFC winds diminish to less than 12 kts aft 08/03Z. Aviation discussion not updated for TAF amendments.
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&& .FIRE WEATHER...
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High temperatures will near be normal through Friday. Highs then climb to 2-4 degrees above normal this weekend. This week min RHs values will be in the single digits to lower teens in the valleys, with values generally in the teens for the mountains. Breezy afternoon/early evening winds will persist through Wednesday, especially to the east of Tucson. Winds diminish Thursday into the weekend, although typical May afternoon gustiness can be expected. Wind speeds today and Wednesday will be near critical levels for a couple of hours during the mid to late afternoon hours across portions of Cochise and Graham counties. At this time, the duration and geographical area/extent of critical wind speeds do not warrant RFW headlines.
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&& .TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...None. && $$ Visit us on Facebook...Twitter...YouTube...and at weather.gov/Tucson