Monsoon Madness: Guess the rainfall during the monsoon and win points

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — If you get excited when monsoon clouds roll in, or you just love a good guessing game, the University of Arizona has a creative twist on weather watching that might be right up your alley.

It’s called Monsoon Fantasy Forecasts, and it turns Arizona’s summer storm season into a friendly competition. Inspired by the strategy and stats of fantasy football, the game invites participants to predict how much rainfall areas like Tucson and Phoenix will get each month during monsoon.

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm for the monsoon. It’s part of our local identity,” said Zack Guido, one of the game’s co-creators. He is an Associate Research Faculty with the U of A.

The game has existed for a few years now, but Guido says he never thought it would turn into what it has today. The idea was born out of a podcast, created by a group of faculty members, including Guido. What began as a casual, friendly wager on monsoon rainfall eventually evolved into a climate-themed fantasy game open to the public.

Athena Kehoe

“We would estimate what the monsoon was going to be like. That sort of prompted us into our own sort of gentleman’s bet, and that morphed itself into, well, we should just make this into a contest,” Guido explains that the unknown during monsoon seasons is what keeps him curious.

“It’s for people who like to spend their time trying to figure out what the monsoon looks like because there’s so much variability in space," he says. "It could be raining at my house, and it’s likely not raining at, you know, my friend's house across town.”

Guido says that you compete against all the other players who are signed up. If you want to get involved, you have until the end of this month to make your predictions for the entire month of August. You’ll get points based on the risk and accuracy of your guesses. You compete against all the other players signed up.

“We’re interested in what a game like this does for people. Does it change their understanding of the monsoon, does it stoke their curiosity in ways that they seek more information and they try to learn more?," Guido explains.

For reference, Tucson averages about 5.69 inches of rain during the entire monsoon, so even small fluctuations in your guess can make a big difference. Whether you're hoping for a light drizzle or imagining a dramatic downpour, there's no limit to what you can guess.

———
Athena Kehoe is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Athena by emailing athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter.