Heavy Snow, Western Mogollon Rim
- When
- April 2, 12:00 AM MST to April 5, 12:00 PM MST
- Where
- Western Mogollon Rim forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Arizona, April 2 to 5, 1997
A major early spring storm struck the mountains of central Arizona mainly around W. Flagstaff.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS FGZ wrote it up.
A major early spring storm struck the mountains of central Arizona mainly around W. Flagstaff. Most of the snow fell by mid afternoon on April 2nd. Snowfall totals at that time included 25 inches at Bellemont (11 miles west of Flagstaff), 18 inches in N. Flagstaff, 16 inches in W. Flagstaff and 8 inches at Munds Park (13 miles south of Flagstaff). The 28.0 inches that fell in Bellemont on April 2nd set the daily record snowfall for that day and for the entire month of April. Snow continued to fall for the next 3 days making the total snowfall for all 4 days at Bellemont with 44.3 inches.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in Utah, April 2, 1997
- Flood in North Dakota, April 2 to 5, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, April 2, 1997
- High Wind in New Mexico, April 2 to 3, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, April 2, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, April 2, 1997
- High Wind in California, April 2, 1997
- High Wind in Arizona, April 2 to 3, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, April 2 to 3, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, April 2, 1997
- High Wind in California, April 2, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Texas, April 2, 1997
More
Every storm in Arizona in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, April 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5591720.