And look for pollen counts to drop in coming days
University of Arizona students Jacob Butler (left) and Lauren Slosky, both 20, enjoy ice cream at the UA Mall on Tuesday afternoon. Slosky was raising money and letting people know about Project Sunshine, a UA club that helps ill children at University Medical Center. "It's been very hot, but it hasn't stopped us from raising money," Slosky said.
Cooler temperatures and fewer allergens should make Tucson a nicer place.
The city topped out at 97 degrees Tuesday, and Tucson will likely not see 100 degrees for several weeks, said John Glueck, a meteorologist with the Tucson office of the National Weather Service.
Gila Bend topped 100 Tuesday, and lower deserts in Pima County were expected to be close to the century mark, Glueck said.
The agency has an official temperature station at Tucson International Airport but not in outlying areas, he said.
The record high for Tuesday was 104 degrees in 1989, a year well known for early hot temperatures, Glueck said.
The earliest Tucson has seen 100 degrees was April 19 of that year, he said, with May 26 being the average date for cracking 100 over the past 113 years.
Don’t expect to feel the century mark here soon.
“There is a significant cooling trend coming up,” he said. “This will bring an increase in wind later this week and cooler temperatures, which will be below normal the early part of next week.”
And allergies should be less of a problem, said Mark Sneller, owner of Aero Allergen Research Inc.
Tuesday results from an air sampling instrument near East 22nd Street and South Wilmot Road showed pollen at 68 grains per cubic meter, he said.
Mesquite recorded 25 grains per cubic meter, grasses were 13, paloverde registered 12 and there were small amounts of creosote, pecan, olive and pine and a trace of ragweed, he said.
Readings of 200 to 300 grains per cubic meter are typically needed before people notice allergy problems, Sneller said.
Some local areas could see counts up to 10 times higher than at the test site, he said.
Dry weather makes allergy complaints rise. Moist respiratory systems can better handle allergens, Sneller said.
“In a general sense, the worst is over for the season. We will still have traces of this or that,” he said.
“The next big adventure in pollen and mold will be in August and September, but it all depends on the rainfall,” he said.