In March the dry weather began to really take hold as mild dry weather prevailed. The dry weather continued in April as the temperatures continued to warm the and the 90°F mark was reach on first time on April 13th. Temperatures remained mild and seasonal for the rest of the month. Early May was warm as the heat began to take hold after a brief windy storm cooled the temperatures back into the mid 70s on the 13th. Then the first heat wave of the early summer began as the century mark (100°F)was reached for the first time on May 18th at: 1:56pm. The heat wave peaked on May 19th with the monthly high temp of 106.8°F.

Then a unusally strong late season storm moved into the state and the high temperatures fell into mid 60s by the 23rd. This intense late season strong storm produed the all time record low barometic pressure of 29.21Hg on May 22nd at 3:45 am this unusually strong producef wide spread rain primally in the south and East valley and rarely late season snows in the mountains. Pepperridge record a storm total of 0.11 inches while up to .50 inchesd fell in the East valley during this rare May rain event . In it wake Phoenix experienced a mild Memomial Day weekend with temperatures in the 70s and 80s.

Then in early June typical weather prevailed this was followed by a 10day heatwave begining on Jun 14th the heat peaked on June on June 20th with 111.9°F, this was the peak temperature for the year hot temperatures continued until the start of the Monsoon season.

Under the new rules the The Monsoon Season began on June 15th but no real storms appeared to early July. The peak wind gust for the year at Pepperridge occured on July 4th with 40mph from a collapsing thunderstorm to our East. The 2008 Monsoon began based on the old method the dewpoint criteria which has to have average 55°F or above for 3 days in a row This criteria was met on July 5th which means the Monsoon began on July 3rd This years Monsoon was quite active with the first major storm occuring on July 9th and 10th 1.17 inches. Storms continued to be active throughout the season although many missed this location. July had normal precipitation with 1.32 inches.

August was a active month with numerous storms effecting parts of the valley the 2nd Decent Storm of Monsoon 2008 at Pepperidge occured on Aug 7th and produced 0.85 inches of rain and a peak Wind Gust of 37 Mph at 9pm. Another good storm occured On Aug 25th with 0.99 inches a peak Wind Gust of 26 Mph at 7:55pm. But the biggest storm for the valley occured on Aug 28th with the severe weather outbreak Storm this storm produced 0.21 inches rain at Pepperridge with a peak Wind Gust of 37 Mph at 9pm. The Brunt of the storm hit S.E. of this location in Tempe/Mesa and Central Phoenix.
A 75 Mph Gust was recorded at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Severe ThunderStorm details. Daily lightning totals were alltime records with 94,333 lightning Flashes or Strikes, including 553 nearby strokes The total stroke count from those flashes was 231,460 strokes. This storm continued with its 3rd wave of the night occuring in the early morning hours of Aug 29th produced an additional 0.17 inches of rain and Pea Size Hail at this station. August end up being the wetest August on record a Pepperridge with 2.85 inches. Sky Harbor measured 3.55 inches their 3rd wetest August.

By September thing began to dry out with onyl 0.02 inches falling by months end the official end of the Monsoon, Pepperridge measured 4.19 inches of rain the 4th wetest on record. Sky Harbor usually one of driest areas of town faired much better with 5.70 inches the 10th wetest on record. For the complete Monsoon Highlights Click Here.

Warm dry weather continued though the fall with no rain falling October. Early November was warm and dry and this pattern persisted through mid month before the first real storm of the fall season hit on Thanksgiving with welcomed rains. The three day storm which began on November 26th produced 0.64 inches of rain brang the first rainy Thanksgiving Weekend in about 15 years. In fact only 0.10 inches of rain had fallen since Sept 1st prior to the arrival of the first significant storm of the season

In December the wetter weather pattern continued with a series of storms on 14th with series of weather systems that moved through the area bringing welcoming valley rain and much needed Mountain Snows. Below normal temperatures continued in the wake of the last in the series of these wet storms that had moved though the area and the high temperatures remained below normal ranging from the high 50s to low 60s through the week before Christmas. Wet weather return on Christmas Day and .40 inches of rain fell over two days as two storms moved through the area. The colder storm arrived on 26th which lowered the snow level to near 3000ft early in the morning as a light dusting of snow fell over the extreme northern fringes of the valley near Carefree. Only rain fell here at Pepperridge with 0.21 inches, but as the skies clear temperatures fell quickly into the 40s and then the mid 30s by midnight on Dec 27th.The temperature fell to 29.8°F on Dec 28th the lowest of the year and this was the first freeze of the winter season, and the first freeze since February. The year ended with slightly warmer temperatures and no rain.

In summary the year of 2008 began wet with a Wet January things began to dry in February with little rain falling until a rare late season storm in May. The Monsoon Season was fairly active cummulating with the severe weather outbreak on Aug 28th. Dry weather persisted through the fall and the year ended with wet December.