HIGHLIGHT
Meteorologists say this is a bit early for powder in Flagstaff
“Flagstaff typically sees snowfall in the first couple weeks in November, so seeing snow this early is a bit unusual.” Megan Taylor Meteorologist, National Weather Service
While heavy rains hit the Valley on Sunday, residents in and around Flagstaff woke up to the first snowfall of the season.
Sunday’s rain broke Phoenix’s daily rainfall record for Oct. 7, said James Sawtelle, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Phoenix. The city received 0.41 inches of rain Sunday morning. The previous record for the day was 0.30 inches.
On Tuesday, Hurricane Rosa’s remnants dumped 2.36 inches of rain on Phoenix, making this month the third wettest October in recorded state history, officials said.
In northern Arizona, it’s already looking a lot like winter.
The National Weather Service in Flagstaff said 4.5 inches of snow fell in Snowbowl Estates Saturday night through early Sunday morning.
The weather service said Williams had 2 inches, while Bellemont had 1 inch of snow. Show Low received 2 inches.
The Arizona Snowbowl topped the list at about 6 inches.
“Flagstaff typically sees snowfall in the first couple weeks in November, so seeing snow this early is a bit unusual,” said Megan Taylor, a meteorologist at the NWS in Flagstaff.
The last time northern Arizona saw snow in October was in 2013 when 0.6 inches fell near Flagstaff, Taylor said, chalking the Sunday morning storm up to a cold system that dropped in from the north and ushered in a wave of cold air and precipitation.
While unusual, it wasn’t quite a record.
The earliest measured snowfall in Flagstaff dates to Sept. 19, 1965, when 2 inches fell in the city, the NWS said.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms remain in the forecast in northern Arizona, and some areas could see an additional dusting of snow by this morning.
What snow did fall might not stick around long — temperatures are forecast to rebound into the 50s Tuesday with clear skies returning by midweek.
Flagstaff is easily the snowiest big city in Arizona. It averages 10sq1.7 inches of snow per year, according to NWS statistics. Flagstaff’s snowiest winter was from 1972 to 1973 when it recorded 210 inches.
No other metropolitan area in the state comes close to those numbers. Most of the big cities are in the lower elevations where snow is rare.
Phoenix, for example, hasn’t had measurable snow since Dec. 22, 1990. The record for snow accumulation in Phoenix is an inch, most recently on Jan. 22, 1937.