Flagstaff officially picked up 35.9 inches, its highest single-day snow total in the 126 years that records have been kept. ‘Highly unusual event’ leaves Arizona digging out from a 36-inch snowfall that shattered records Richard Henn runs a snowblower along the sidewalk outside his … Skip to content . "As the storm leaves Arizona, it will bring a dose of mountain snow to New Mexico before a warm-up arrives early next week.But as the cleanup continues in the wake of Thursday’s event, Sullins summed it up: “It’s been a wet and wild couple of days!”The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning.The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning.
By Emma Taggart on January 10, 2019 . It shatters the previous one-day total of 31 inches, which had stood since 1915.Thursday’s accumulation also falls just shy of setting a one-day state record. “We had to plan ahead to make sure we’d have full staff here,” Klimowski said.A number of major roads have been shut down, including a nearly 50-mile stretch of Interstate 17. Rare Snowfall in Arizona Transforms Rocky Desert into Surreal Winter Wonderland. Latest. “That’s after these locations picked up over an inch of rain. Flagstaff sees historic snowfall first snowfall of the season snow and rain slam arizona as blizzard flagstaff northern arizona forecast to dumps record breaking snow in arizona Flagstaff Arizona Shatters Century Plus Old All Time SnowiestKing Of The Hill Flagstaff Atop Snowfall Total So Far LocalFlagstaff Ariz Snow Totals Much continue reading .
It’s not often you see snow in Arizona, but when you do, it’s pretty magical. The snowiest winter was in 1895, with 207 inches.The wintry wonder wasn’t relegated only to Flagstaff. Right now we’re at 101.”In an average year, another 32 inches falls after Feb. 22. a scenario that would put 2018-19 among the 10 snowiest winters in Flagstaff. Images were captured in the morning hours of Saturday, February 23, 2019 and show the expansive snowpack across northern Arizona and much of the desert southwest region.
“We had record snowfall in several locations — certainly a historical event.”Truly historic, indeed. You don't normally think of the desert as having a proper "winter," but parts of Arizona and New Mexico got more than a light dusting of snow to start the year. Snow fell in Tucson, where the average February high is 69 degrees. “We typically start to see it at about this time of year.”Other parts of Arizona saw plenty of rain on Monday.Crown King was the rainfall champ with 3.24 inches as of 6 a.m. Tuesday morning. A lot of our crews are working 12-hour shifts. “We average around 100 inches. But many roads are still impassible or dangerous.”The county also opened an emergency operations center to help manage and provide logistical support to first responders.
Flagstaff would have needed about three more inches to reach that mark.Despite the monster snow totals, the event was well-predicted.
Forest Lakes picked up 2.42 inches in that time frame. Klimowski said the precipitation shield extended farther west than forecasters had originally expected.“The storm pretty much came as forecast, but was a little bit heavier in the Flagstaff area,” he said.The Weather Service office did keep two staff members at a nearby hotel, expecting the 10-mile commute from downtown to be challenging. The city’s first measurable snow in six years made for a curious sight as it blanketed cacti and palm trees in a white dusting.And the flakes made it into the Phoenix metro area, where snow levels dropped below 2,000 feet.“Snow actually did come into our suburbs of Scottsdale and Fountain Hills,” wrote Amber Sullins, chief meteorologist at ABC-15 in Phoenix.
Stock Photos from Anton Foltin/Shutterstock. Flagstaff Airport and Show Low each experienced a new one-day snowfall record. The Arizona Department of Transportation has no estimate for when the highway, which leads to Flagstaff from the south, will be reopened.At the county level, the process of clearing road has proved equally challenging.“Our crews have been working 24/7 throughout this storm,” said Matthew Rudig, Coconino County’s public information officer. “We have 30 or 40 graders and plows out there at all times.
“It’s not often we break record cold temperatures anymore in this warming climate. The remnants of Hurricane Lorena sparked some hopes for a white winter as the upper elevations of the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff were dusted with snow on Monday, Sept. 23, the first day of fall.The National Weather Service in Flagstaff estimated that snow and graupel (soft hail or snow pellets) fell as low as 11,000 to 11,500 feet and may have been several inches deep at the highest elevations.So, is it unusual to see snow at this time of year?“No, it’s not (unusual) for this time of year,” NWS meteorologist Tim Steffen said. Some places see three feet of snow in an entire winter. And then there’s Flagstaff, Ariz., which saw that much snow in 24 hours on Thursday.“This was a very cold and highly unusual event for northern Arizona,” said Brian Klimowski, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service office in Flagstaff.
The The whopper snowstorm inched Flagstaff above its mean seasonal accumulation.“This puts us right above normal for a season,” Klimowski said. That’s record-breaking rain for us!”Sullins expects the unusual cold will mark a record-low high temperature for Feb. 22.“We’ll only make it into the low-50s.