Winter Storm in Western Mogollon Rim, Arizona

Snow started falling across the Western Mogollon Rim by late morning on Thursday March 13. A snow squall started moving across the zone around 320 PM with strong winds (40 MPH +) and very low visibility. An 18 to 22 car pile-up occured west bound on Interstate 40 at mile post 159 just west of Williams. The wreck started a fire that burned for up to 22 hours. Initally, two people were thought to have died. The remains of three other people were later discovered in the ashes as the result of a missing persons report. The interstate was severely damage in the fire and was closed for several days.

The first of two back to back winter storms moved in on March 13th and left on March 14th. This was marked by an intense band of snow that was short lived, but dropped quite a bit of snow. This created travel problems including a large traffic pile up on Interstate 40 near Williams.