Heavy Snow — Mazatzal Mountains, Arizona

2021-01-25 to 2021-01-26 · Mazatzal Mountains, Arizona

Event narrative

A cold weather system moved through the region and produced multiple rounds of snowfall along the Mazatzal mountains and portions of SR-87, mostly from midday of the 25th through the morning of the 26th. A Winter Storm Warning was in effect during this time for elevations above 4,000 feet. The heaviest snow likely fell in the afternoon of the 25th when a squall line/cold front moved west to east through the area, producing greater precipitation rates and lowering snow levels briefly as low as 1,500-2,000 feet. No official snowfall measurements were reported, but the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) shared multiple images from SR-87 near Mt. Ord in the afternoon of the 26th showing several inches of snow had accumulated. ADOT had closed SR-87 between Bush Highway and Payson beginning at around 1600 MST on the 25th and eventually reopened the highway around 1900 MST on the 26th.

Wider weather episode

An abnormally strong and cold weather system impacted the Desert Southwest during late January. The storm produced significant snowfall for elevations above 3,500-4,000 feet over the course of the two days, mainly north and east of the Phoenix area. This led to the closures of US-60 between Globe and Show Low and SR-87 between Bush Highway and Payson. Following the passage of a cold front and squall line through south-central AZ, midday on the 25th, snow levels briefly crashed to as low as 1500-2000 feet. This resulted in light snow/graupel accumulations at these lower elevations which included the Wickenburg area and foothill regions just north and east of the Phoenix metro area. Mixed precipitation (rain, some snowflakes, graupel, and small hail) was also reported across the Phoenix metro, with some accumulating small hail or graupel. This created a large media interest across the Phoenix area.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 932156. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.