Heavy Snow — Yavapai County Valleys and Basins, Arizona

2019-02-20 to 2019-02-22 · Yavapai County Valleys and Basins, Arizona

Event narrative

Snow started falling late evening on February 20 at elevations below 5000 feet. By 430 AM, 4.5 inches of snow had fallen in Paulden at around 4,400 feet and 5.5 inches in Bagdad by 530 AM at 3,800 feet elevation. Total snow amounts were (inches/elevation in feet): Chino Valley 23/4,800, Bagdad 14.0/3,800, Cordes Junction 14.0/3,600, Cottonwood-Verde Villa 13/3,400, Clarkdale 12.0/ 3,500, Cornville 9.0/ 3,500, Middle Verde 6.0/3,200, Rimrock 5.5/ 3,600, and Black Canyon City 2.0/2,000 (very rare at this elevation). Twenty-two inches of snow fell in Wilhoit right at 5,000 feet.

Wider weather episode

A cold, strong, intensifying low pressure system spread a deep blanket of snow over a majority of central and northern Arizona between the evening of February 20th and the night of February 22nd, 2019. Across the Mogollon Rim and other high country regions, reports of two to over three feet of snow were received. Anywhere from a few inches to over a foot of snow fell in the lower deserts and valleys of northern Arizona. These lower elevations may not see accumulating snow for several years at at time. For many locations across central and northern Arizona, this storm was among the top 10 greatest recorded. The single-day snowfall record was broken at Flagstaff Airport and in Show Low. As a result of the heavy snowfall, major roadways were closed, trees were downed and power was lost in local communities. Both the City of Flagstaff and Coconino declared a state of emergency on February Thursday 21.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 814345. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.