PHOENIX – The cold front that cooled the Phoenix metro area Tuesday morning won’t last long.

“It will be a brief, short-duration cooldown here. So take advantage of the cooler temperatures,” said Matt Salerno with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Phoenix. KTAR News 92.3 FM.

In the meantime, Arizonans should prepare for a cold Wednesday morning, with some rural areas experiencing an overnight frost.

It’s a cool morning in metro Phoenix with temperatures currently in the low to mid 40s. The low temperature at Sky Harbor was 49 degrees. Expect temperatures to drop even further tomorrow morning into the upper 30s to lower 40s. #azwx pic.twitter.com/WKwmtL6FR7

– NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) December 10, 2024

“We have a frost warning that is now in effect…primarily for the outlying desert areas near Casa Grande and Arizona City and out to Globe-Miami and then out to Yuma,” Salerno said.

Temperatures in the Phoenix area are expected to peak in the 60s Tuesday, but the impact of the cold front won’t linger.

“Our highs will slowly climb back into the 70s for the rest of the week,” Salerno said.

What happens after the cold front leaves?

In fact, the high pressure ridge that maintained temperatures well above normal for the first part of December should recover in the South-West in the coming days.

“High temperatures will be back in the mid to maybe upper 70s this weekend,” Salerno said. Valley highs are normally in the upper 60s this time of year.

Looking further ahead, as a relatively dry 2024 comes to an end, Salerno said there’s no reason to believe the Phoenix metro area will see rain again anytime soon.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which the NWS uses for the city’s official surveys, has not received measurable precipitation since August 22.

“We’re looking at a very good chance of continuing to be above normal (with) temperatures…across much of the western United States.” …Plus, we have a very good chance of staying dry…until the second half of December,” Salerno said.

John Roller of KTAR News 92.3 FM contributed to this report.

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