Freeze warning continues into Monday

Temperatures will remain near freezing across much of Southern Arizona overnight on Sunday, National Weather Service forecasters said. A freeze warning will be remain in effect overnight until Monday morning.

A hard freeze of around 25 degrees is possible, with some areas hovering right around or below the freezing point of 32 degrees, NWS said. The warning, which continues the cold cautions issued earlier this week, covers the Tucson metro area, the Tohono O’odham Nation, and much of the rest of Pima County.

Cochise County and the Safford area are not included as they were in the earlier warning.

“At or below freezing temperatures will persist through Monday morning for most of Southeast Arizona,” forecasters said. “Then, temperatures will gradually warm through much of the week, peaking on Thursday at slightly above normal levels.”

“For our lower elevations, once a freeze occurs, we don’t keep issuing freeze warnings unless it has been (about) 30 days or more since the previous widespread freeze,” forecasters wrote earlier as they extended the warning for Friday and Saturday. “The exception to this is if we are expecting a hard freeze with widespread lows at or below 28 degrees.”

The low at Tucson International Airport dipped to the freezing point this weekend, hitting 32 degrees at 4:43 a.m. on Saturday.

The last freeze recorded at KTUS was on Jan. 12, 2024, when thermometers read 29, and the span of 364 days without dropping to freezing is the longest on record.

“Freezes have been hit and miss in the lower elevations this season and have yet to be widespread,” NWS said, explaining the renewed warning for Tucson.

“Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold,” NWS said. “To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly. Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above- ground pipes to protect them from freezing.”