The 2008 monsoon season already has given the Valley an above-average amount of rainfall, and there's still plenty of time left on the clock.
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Even more, the National Weather Service is predicting an active afternoon and evening for thunderstorms and showers on Thursday night.
Through Thursday morning, Phoenix's official gauge has recorded 2.78 inches of rain. In a typical monsoon season, which runs through mid-September, the total is 2.77 inches.
This is only the second year since 2000 the monsoon’s rain has come in above the climatological norm. In 2006, the total was 3.33 inches.
Southern Arizona also is seeing wetter-than-usual weather. All the recording stations monitored by the Weather Service's office in Tucson are showing seasonal totals above average.
Nogales has seen 8.96 inches of rain through Wednesday; that's more than 55 percent above the typical amount of precipitation.
The short-term forecast for the Valley calls for a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 11 p.m.
The main threat appears to be locally heavy rainfall, although the Weather Service warns an isolated severe, wet microburst is a possibility.
