Frost/Freeze — Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

2011-02-02 to 2011-02-04 · Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

Event narrative

A hard freeze occurred during the mornings of February 3rd and 4th; many locations across the greater Phoenix area experienced several hours at or below 28 degrees. Phoenix Sky Harbor reported low temperatures of 30 degrees on both mornings, and these lows were near record values for the dates. Low temperatures had not fallen to these levels since the last hard freeze in January 2007. Freezing temperatures also occurred the morning of February 2nd. Frozen greens caused cancellation of the Phoenix Waste Management Pro-Am on February 2nd, in addition the cold temperatures and frozen greens severly disrupted Open play all week and forced the tournament to finish on Monday. All of this led to significant decreases in attendance and loss of revenue for the Open. The hard freeze led to widespread damage to frost-sensitive plants, caused numerous water pipes to burst in the colder outlying areas, and caused damage to local crops such as peach and citrus. George Brazil reported dozens of calls from around the valley due to broken pipes and failed furnaces.

Wider weather episode

An extremely cold Canadian airmass settled over the the Arizona desert during the first week of February 2011. The cold dry air set the stage for a hard freeze that lasted for two days. The subfreezing conditions caused pipes to burst and caused widespread damage to frost-sensitive plants and crops.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 277313. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.