High Wind, Kaibab Plateau
- When
- February 7, 10:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
- Where
- Kaibab Plateau forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Arizona, February 7, 2001
Strong southwest wind developed across northern Arizona in advance of a strong winter storm. Some of the highest reported wind gusts were 46 MPH at Winslow , 52 MPH at St Johns , 60 MPH at the Rainbow RAWS (5 miles north of White River) , and 58 MPH at the Houserock RAWS.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
- 4
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.
Strong southwest wind developed across northern Arizona in advance of a strong winter storm. Some of the highest reported wind gusts were 46 MPH at Winslow , 52 MPH at St Johns , 60 MPH at the Rainbow RAWS (5 miles north of White River) , and 58 MPH at the Houserock RAWS.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 7, 9:30 AM MST, 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 7, 9:30 AM MST, 30 minutes before
NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 930 AM MST WED FEB 07 2001 SYNOPSIS...A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE STATE LATER TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY. EXPECT AREAS OF SNOW TO MOVE OVER THE REGION TONIGHT AND THURSDAY...ALONG WITH MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES AND GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS. SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT OVER PORTIONS OF THE ARIZONA HIGH COUNTRY. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL TO AS LOW AS 3000 FEET BY THURSDAY MORNING. SHOWERS WILL DECREASE RAPIDLY THURSDAY NIGHT WITH PARTLY CLOUDY AND WARMER CONDITIONS ON FRIDAY. ANOTHER STORM WILL AFFECT THE REGION LATE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...WITH A THIRD STORM ON TAP FOR THE START OF THE WORK WEEK. DISCUSSION...FCST FOCUS IS ON THE SFC WINDS FOR TODAY AND APPROACHING STORM SYSTEM FOR TONIGHT. FGZ 88D PROFILER SHOWING 30 TO 40 KT OF WIND ALOFT THIS MORNING AND STRONG H7 SLC-TUS H7 GRADIENT IN PLACE. LOOKING FOR BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS ACROSS CWA TODAY... ESPECIALLY THE LCR. THE WINDS KICKED IN OVER LCR EARLIER THAN FORECAST AND HAVE ALREADY UPDATED ADVISORY AND ZONES TO ADJUST TIMING. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWING UPSTREAM STORM SYSTEM OVER CENTRAL CALIF MOVING SLOWLY TO THE SSW AIDED BY 120 KT JET ON THE BACKSIDE AT 300MB. SURROUNDING SOUNDINGS INDICATED MAIN MOISTURE STILL TO THE NORTH OF THE CWA THIS MORNING. SOME MOISTURE LURKING AROUND AZ AS PW IMAGERY SHOWS .25 TO .5 INCHES OVER AZ THIS MORNING. ETA/AVN SIMILAR IN SWINGING TROF INTO WESTERN AZ LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND ACROSS THE STATE ON THURS. MODELS INDICATE SLOW DEEPENING OF THE RH FIELDS LATER TODAY AND OVERNIGHT. SOME SHOWER ACTIVITY POSSIBLE BY AFTERNOON WITH BEST CHANCES OF PRECIP TONIGHT AS TROF AXIS AND COLD POOL ALOFT MOVE ACROSS CWA. ALSO DIFFERENCES NOTED ON SPEED OF SYSTEM ...DYNAMIC FIELDS AND QPF BTWN MODELS. WILL SORT THIS OUT WITH AFTERNOON PACKAGE. CURRENT ZONES HANDLE GENERAL TREND WELL AND PLAN NO FURTHER UPDATE ATTM. DF .FGZ...WIND ADVISORY TIL 6 PM MST FOR AZZ012-013-014-017-040.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County
- When
- February 7, 11:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County forecast zone
- Measured
- 40 kt (46 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 35.400, -110.321 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County
- When
- February 7, 11:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 35.396, -109.489 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, White Mountains
- When
- February 7, 11:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- White Mountains forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 35.398, -109.905 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 7 to 8, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, February 7, 2001
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 7 to 8, 2001
- Ice Storm and Winter Weather in Iowa, February 7 to 8, 2001
- Winter Storm in Colorado, February 7 to 8, 2001
- High Wind in California, February 7, 2001
- Ice Storm in Iowa, February 7 to 8, 2001
- Winter Storm in Michigan, February 7 to 8, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, February 7 to 9, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 7, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Utah, February 7 to 8, 2001
- Blizzard in Alaska, February 7 to 9, 2001
More
Every storm in Arizona in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, February 2001
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: 5233244, 5233241, 5233242, 5233243.