Winter Weather — Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateau, Arizona

2024-03-16 to 2024-03-17 · Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateau, Arizona

Event narrative

Estimated 9 inches of snow fell overnight Saturday to early Sunday morning in Tsaile. Estimated 12 inches of snow overnight Saturday to early Sunday morning in Wheatfields.

Wider weather episode

A front tied to the upper level low pressure system north of Arizona brought active weather to northern Arizona on March 13. Convective showers and thunderstorms brought rain, snow, and graupel. Along the high country corridors of I-40 and I-17, snow squalls (often mixed with graupel) caused vehicle accidents and traffic slowdowns.

The upper level low moved into the Lower Colorado River Valley on March 14 and lingered in that general vicinity through March 15 with bands of low elevation rain and high elevation snow. The morning of March 15 was rather active. The low weakened after that with less and less impact over north central Arizona. Snow continued in northeastern Arizona until early on March 17.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1208729. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.