You asked for it

And you got it. Phoenix ends a record dry-spell yesterday with over an inch of rain near the Airport and as much as 3 in East Valley suburbs. And lets not forget the snow in Carefree:

On Day 144 it finally rained in the Valley of the Sun. And where it didn't rain, it snowed.

Phoenix officially collected 1.05 inches at Sky Harbor International Airport by 6:30 p.m., the first measurable precipitation since Oct. 18. Folks in the East Valley enjoyed the heaviest rainfall, with parts of Queen Creek measuring more than 3 inches.

For some however, it was not as much of a blessing as for others; the rain cxld Cactus League matchups valley-wide and put the kibosh on several local events:

9:15 a.m. Cindi Machado could have seen her breath in the chilly air had she ventured out of Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in north Phoenix. Instead, she's in the lobby in black high-heel sandals, with a tiny white flower on her exposed toes. She's squatting in front of a rack of pamphlets describing 100 things to do in Arizona, 95 of them outside, where it is dark and chilly and pouring rain. It's her first time in Arizona, and before noon, north Phoenix would get more than an inch of rain.

By noon, a half-inch of rain had fallen, a "soft day" in Ireland, organizers insisted, but a washout in Phoenix. They couldn't risk Irish dancers falling on the wet streets or bands getting electrocuted as the rain pooled around them. The whole thing didn't sit well with Harry Carroll, president of the parade committee and a former New Yorker accustomed to St. Patrick's Day Parades in rain, snow, sleet, lightning or thunder.

The retired Phoenix police officer worked as a uniformed street cop and a detective but said this about Saturday's decision: "Hardest call I ever had to make in my life."

1:35 p.m. Chandler officials huddled and, by 2 p.m., opted the close the 18th-annual Ostrich Festival at Tumbleweed Park at McQueen and Germann roads. The rain was on and off in the morning, allowing the festival's parade down Arizona Avenue to proceed.

2:50 p.m. The Peoria Sports Complex already canceled the spring-training matchup between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago White Sox, and officials were debating about the 7:05 p.m. game between the Seattle Mariners and the Kansas City Royals, the only night game scheduled. Four other Cactus League afternoon games were canceled. Peoria spokeswoman Mary Lake said it would be terrible to be forced to cancel two games in one day. But by noon, some parts of Peoria had seen a half-inch of rain, and Lake said it had just stopped, but the skies remained dark and threatening. Lake said the playing field was covered. "Not that the seats are going to be dry," Lake said. And as for those folks with tickets to watch the game from the grass: "Good luck." By 5:30, the decision had been made, and the night game was canceled.

3:30 p.m. It was the second day of the 36th-annual Scottsdale Arts Festival. Hot chocolate and coffee were in demand; lemonade was not. About half the artists opened shop for most of the day, but now their tents were closing.

Last winter, we got a few big soakers that helped the drought situation in parts of the state, though not ending it. In fact, after one storm Roosevelt lake filled from 63-percent capacity to over 90-percent. Seems it will take a few more repeats of that kind of storm and this weekend's activity to get back on track.

The good news is that most years when winter storms are light, monsoon rainfall is higher than average.