Heavy Snow — Grand Canyon Country, Arizona

2011-04-08 to 2011-04-09 · Grand Canyon Country, Arizona

Event narrative

Snow began to fall over the Grand Canyon Country around daybreak on April 8th. Much heavier snow fell during the afternoon and evening. Twelve inches fell at the South Rim and 9 inches fell over the North Rim.

Wider weather episode

A strong Pacific storm brought widespread rain and snow to northern Arizona April 8 and 9th. Light rain and snow began to develop over the Mogollon Rim during the morning of April 8 and then heavier showers began to spread across western Arizona during the afternoon. The rain and snow above about 4500 feet became heavy by evening. The strong cold front slowly moved across the state allowing snow to pile up in the higher elevations. The snow level dropped to as low as 3500 feet once the front moved through. The storm pushed east of Arizona by morning of April 10 leaving patchy fog and very cold temperatures in its wake.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 310497. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.