Heavy Snow — Upper Gila River Valley, Arizona

2004-03-04 to 2004-03-05 · Upper Gila River Valley, Arizona

Event narrative

Mt. Graham reported 26 inches of snowfall for this event.

Wider weather episode

An upper level low initially centered off the coast of Oregon took a southward track down the coast and eventually dug into Northern Mexico. Once the system finally kicked through Northern Sonora and Chihuahua, areas north of Tucson began to see significant precipitation. The western and central deserts saw the precipitation the earliest; while the low was still digging southward. When all was said and done southeast Arizona did receive significant precipitation. The valleys ranged from 0.25 to over an inch of rain. While the high elevations received 7 to 23 inches storm total snowfall.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5389671. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.