Cold/Wind Chill in Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona

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.

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.