Heavy Snow — Mazatzal Mountains, Arizona

2023-03-01 to 2023-03-02 · Mazatzal Mountains, Arizona

Event narrative

Snowfall of 7 inches was reported in the area of Sunflower, AZ.

Wider weather episode

A strong late season winter storm moved across the Desert Southwest during the afternoon and evening on the 1st, lasting through the early morning hours on the 2nd. Strong winds were observed out ahead of an associated cold front with gusts in excess of 40 mph observed. Moderate to locally heavy rains associated with the cold front were also observed with most areas in and around the Phoenix metro observing between 0.5 to 1. This rainfall was enough to result in some elevated flows across northern Maricopa County near the Carefree and Cave Creek areas. Behind the cold front, a very cold air mass was pulled down into the region changing the rain to snow across areas mainly above 2000 feet during the overnight hours of the 1st into the 2nd, resulting in measurable snowfall accumulations.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1085309. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.