Winter Storm, Western Mogollon Rim
- When
- March 20, 3:00 AM MST to March 21, 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Western Mogollon Rim forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Arizona, March 20 to 21, 2000
A powerful winter storm blanketed northern Arizona with heavy snow. Some of the highest elevations reported around 2 feet of snow.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
- 5
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 6
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 powerful winter storm blanketed northern Arizona with heavy snow. Some of the highest elevations reported around 2 feet of snow. There were a number of trafic accidents with some fatalities. A DPS officer and 3 residents of the Navajo Reservatioin were killed on US Highway 89 in Page and two children were injured. A small car lost control and slid into an oncoming truck on Highway 180 just norh of Flagstaff. The driver of the car was killed. A the passenger in the car and the driver of the truck were injuured and transported to the hospital. A 16 vehicle pile-up on I-40 in Flagstaff resulted in the hospitalization of a mother and daughter. Firefighters spent more that an hour extricating the mother from her jeep that was crushed under a semi-trailer. Some of the snowfall totals included: Bellemont 14 inches, Flagstaff Airport 13 inches, Forest Lakes 10 inches, North Rim of the Grand Canyon 22 inches (South Rim 5), Heber 6 inches, Hart Prairie 24 inches, Kayenta 6 inches, Tuba City 6 inches, Happy Jack 13 inches, Doney Park 12 inches, Forest Lakes 10, Winona 8 inches, Munds Park 12 inches, Sedona 5 inches, Williams 8 inches, Winslow 7 inches, and Parks 7 inches
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Little Colorado River Valley in Coconino County
- When
- March 20, 3:00 AM MST to March 21, 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Little Colorado River Valley in Coconino County forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 35.620, -111.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County
- When
- March 20, 3:00 AM MST to March 21, 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County forecast zone
- Deaths
- 5 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 35.400, -110.321 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County
- When
- March 20, 3:00 AM MST to March 21, 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 35.396, -109.489 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Eastern Mogollon Rim
- When
- March 20, 3:00 AM MST to March 21, 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Eastern Mogollon Rim forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 35.620, -111.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Chinle Valley
- When
- March 20, 3:00 AM MST to March 21, 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Chinle Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 35.398, -109.905 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Storm, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County | 2000-03-22 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct | ||
| Winter Storm, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County | 2000-03-21 | 30 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Winter Storm, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County | 2000-03-21 | 17 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Winter Storm, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County | 2000-03-21 | 38 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Winter Storm, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County | 2000-03-21 | 27 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in Utah, March 20 to 21, 2000
- High Wind in California, March 20 to 21, 2000
- High Wind in Nevada, March 20, 2000
- Winter Storm in Colorado, March 20 to 21, 2000
- Winter Storm in Colorado, March 20 to 21, 2000
- Dense Fog in Wisconsin, March 20 to 21, 2000
- Dense Fog in Iowa, March 20 to 21, 2000
- Dense Fog in Illinois, March 20 to 21, 2000
- Flash Flooding and Heavy Snow in North Carolina, March 20, 2000
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, March 20, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, March 20 to 21, 2000
- Flash Flooding in South Carolina, March 20, 2000
More
Every storm in Arizona in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, March 2000
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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5135650, 5135651, 5135652, 5135653, 5135654, 5135655.