Heavy Snow and Hail in Arizona, December 1 to 21, 1997

Name: Heavy Snow and Hail in Arizona, December 1 to 21, 1997
Start: 1997-12-01T08:00
End: 1997-12-21T09:00
Location: Arizona

December 1 to 21, 1997 · NWS TWC · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

1 heavy snow, 1 hail, 1 dense fog, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy snow, 1 hail, 1 dense fog. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Tohono Oodham Nation

When: December 1, 8:00 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where: Tohono Oodham Nation forecast zone

6-8 inches of snow was reported at Kitt Peak.

Hail, Pinal

When: December 7, 1:25 PM MST to 1:30 PM MST
Where: Pinal County, 20 mi S of Dudleyville
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 32.680, -110.770

Dense Fog, Cochise County

When: December 21, 3:00 AM MST to 9:00 AM MST
Where: Cochise County forecast zone

Dense fog was reported at Douglas and in the Sulphur Springs valley between Willcox and Douglas.

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Dense Fog: Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arizona in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, December 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5619524, 5619525, 5619526.