Weather Alerts for Arizona

Recent Locations: Utica, MI Keyport, WA Blue Gap, AZ

Current Alerts for Blue Gap, AZ: Extreme Heat Warning

1. Extreme Heat Warning for: Aguila Valley; Tonopah Desert; Gila Bend; Cave Creek/New River; Fountain Hills/East Mesa; Northwest Pinal County; West Pinal County; Apache Junction/Gold Canyon; Sonoran Desert Natl Monument

2. Extreme Heat Warning for: Grand Canyon Country

3. Extreme Heat Warning for: Lake Havasu and Fort Mohave; Northwest Deserts; Death Valley National Park; Western Mojave Desert; Morongo Basin; Cadiz Basin; San Bernardino County-Upper Colorado River Valley; Western Clark and Southern Nye County

4. Extreme Heat Warning for: Lake Mead National Recreation Area; Eastern Mojave Desert, Including the Mojave National Preserve; Northeast Clark County; Las Vegas Valley; Lake Mead National Recreation Area; Southern Clark County

5. Extreme Heat Warning for: Northwest Valley; Buckeye/Avondale; Deer Valley; Central Phoenix; North Phoenix/Glendale; Scottsdale/Paradise Valley; East Valley; South Mountain/Ahwatukee; Southeast Valley/Queen Creek

6. Extreme Heat Warning for: Parker Valley; Yuma; Imperial County Southwest; Salton Sea; Imperial County West; Imperial Valley; Palo Verde Valley; Chuckwalla Valley

7. Heat Advisory for: Northwest Plateau; Owens Valley; Esmeralda and Central Nye County; Lincoln County; Sheep Range; Spring Mountains-Red Rock Canyon

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Current U.S. National Radar--Current

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National Weather Forecast--Current

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National Weather Forecast for Tomorrow

Tomorrow National Weather Forecast and Tomorrow National Weather Map are show below.

North America Water Vapor (Moisture)

This map shows recent moisture content over North America. Bright and colored areas show high moisture (ie, clouds); brown indicates very little moisture present; black indicates no moisture.

Weather Topic: What is Rain?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Rain

Rain Next Topic: Shelf Clouds

Precipitation in the form of water droplets is called rain. Rain generally has a tendency to fall with less intensity over a greater period of time, and when rainfall is more severe it is usually less sustained.

Rain is the most common form of precipitation and happens with greater frequency depending on the season and regional influences. Cities have been shown to have an observable effect on rainfall, due to an effect called the urban heat island. Compared to upwind, monthly rainfall between twenty and forty miles downwind of cities is 30% greater.

Next Topic: Shelf Clouds

Weather Topic: What is Sleet?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Sleet

Sleet Next Topic: Snow

Sleet is a form of precipitation in which small ice pellets are the primary components. These ice pellets are smaller and more translucent than hailstones, and harder than graupel. Sleet is caused by specific atmospheric conditions and therefore typically doesn't last for extended periods of time.

The condition which leads to sleet formation requires a warmer body of air to be wedged in between two sub-freezing bodies of air. When snow falls through a warmer layer of air it melts, and as it falls through the next sub-freezing body of air it freezes again, forming ice pellets known as sleet. In some cases, water droplets don't have time to freeze before reaching the surface and the result is freezing rain.

Next Topic: Snow