Fountain Hills, along with all of Arizona, experienced an El Nino winter in 2019 with nearly five inches of rain falling from January through March. There was even .72-inch for normally dry April and May.

However, the real newsmaker for Fountain Hills came in late February when residents were surprised to see snow falling in the late evening on Thursday, Feb. 21. By Friday morning a white blanket an inch or two deep covered much of Fountain Hills with up to a foot or more in the McDowell Mountains on the western edge of the community.

The Adero Canyon Trailhead became a snow play area for dozens of people who made their way up the slope. Since the storm pretty much immobilized much of the state, Valley residents wanting to enjoy the snow were able to get some fun in nearby places like Adero Canyon, North Scottsdale and Cave Creek and Carefree.

With more than five and a half inches of precipitation for the first five months of the year, the upcoming monsoon was anybody’s guess. Generally the normally wet monsoon months are July and August. June is normally the driest month of the year and 2019 was no exception, however, they were fairly dry. June through August brought a meager .10-inch of rain to Fountain Hills.

However, there was a late surge for the monsoon and the town received more than four inches of rainfall during September, with most of that in a single storm.

October was a dry month this year, with a rebound somewhat in November with 2.39 inches of rainfall.

Through the first half of December the town had received .35-inch.

The story was not all wet weather, as there were tornados seen in several places across the Valley during storms in late November and early December.

It appears that the year will end with an excess of 12.5 inches of rainfall.