Cold/Wind Chill — Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona

2022-02-02 to 2022-02-03 · Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona

Event narrative

A migrant became lost while traversing the Chiricahua Mountains February 2. Several inches of snow fell late in the day and coincided with wind chills around 10 degrees. Wind chill temperatures dropped to as low as 5 below zero overnight. The Pima County Medical Examiner determined that the cause of death for this female was hypothermia.

Wider weather episode

Several inches of snow fell across the Pinaleno and Chiricahua mountains during the afternoon and evening hours of February 2. The snow was accompanied by wind chill temperatures around 10 degrees. After the snow ended, air temperatures dropped into the single digits with wind chills near 5 below zero by sunrise on February 3. The Pima County Medical Examiner confirmed that hypothermia was the primary cause of death for two individuals in the mountains.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1010841. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.