Winter Storm in Arizona, January 12, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Arizona, January 12, 2001
Start: 2001-01-12T03:50
End: 2001-01-12T15:14
Location: Arizona

January 12, 2001 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains received 5 inches of snow. Other surrounding areas, including Sonoita, received 2 inches of snow.

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 TWC wrote it up.

Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains received 5 inches of snow. Other surrounding areas, including Sonoita, received 2 inches of snow.

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 Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 12, 2:45 AM MST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 12, 2:45 AM MST, 1 hour 5 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
245 AM MST FRI JAN 12 2001

SYNOPSIS...A WINTER STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE THOUGH THE DESERT
SOUTHWEST TODAY AND TONIGHT...AND THEN MOVE EAST OF THE REGION
SATURDAY MORNING. VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW WILL DEVELOP TODAY
AND THEN CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL TO AROUND
5000 FEET TODAY AND THEN TO NEAR 4500 FEET TONIGHT. IT WILL BE A
LITTLE WARMER ON SUNDAY BEFORE THE NEXT STORM MOVES INTO THE AREA
LATE MONDAY...BRINGING MORE UNSETTLED WEATHER INTO THE MIDDLE PART
OF NEXT WEEK.

DISCUSSION...SATELLITE PICS SHOW SYSTEM CENTER CURRENTLY LOCATED
NEAR THE LA BASIN...WITH LEADING FRONTAL BAND OVER FAR WESTERN AZ.
KYUX RADAR AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS INDICATE SHOWERS HAVE ADVANCED
EASTWARD INTO FAR WESTERN PIMA COUNTY NEAR AJO ATTM. CLOUDS WILL BE
ON THE INCREASE IN THE NEXT HOUR OR SO IN THE TUCSON AREA WITH
PRECIPITATION MOVING IN DURING THE MORNING HOURS.

MODELS STILL IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH THE TIMING AND STRENGTH OF
THIS SYSTEM...ALTHOUGH THEY HAD SLOWED IT DOWN CONSIDERABLY SINCE
YESTERDAY. MODELS STILL SHOW ALL THE PIECES COMING TOGETHER TODAY
AND TONIGHT OVER SOUTHERN ARIZONA...WITH GOOD DYNAMICS...MOISTURE UP
TO 400 MB AND VERY STRONG UPWARD MOTION. THE EVENING SHIFTS THINKING
LOOKS RIGHT ON TRACK WITH THE STORM HITTING IN SEVERAL WAVES...THE
FIRST BEING THE FRONT OVER WESTERN AZ AND THEN THE MAIN SYSTEM LATER
TODAY AND TONIGHT. WILL PROBABLY SEE SOME BREAKS IN THE PCPN BETWEEN
THESE TWO AND MAYBE EVEN SOME BREAKS IN THE CLOUD COVER AS WELL.
RAINFALL TOTALS OF ONE HALF TO ONE INCH STILL LOOK REASONABLE IN THE
VALLEYS...WITH UP TO A FOOT OF SNOW IN THE SKY ISLANDS...ESPECIALLY
ON THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST FACING SLOPES WITH THE UPSLOPE COMPONENT.
THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL WILL BE IN NORTHERN GRAHAM COUNTY AND THE
SOUTHERN WHITE MOUNTAINS. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL TO AROUND 5000 FEET
TODAY AND THEN LOWER AT TIMES TONIGHT TO AROUND 4500 FEET. WITH VERY
COLD AIR ALOFT AND NEGATIVE LI/S ACROSS THE AREA LATER TODAY...
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL NOT BE OUT OF THE QUESTION. THIS SYSTEM
WILL THEN MOVE RAPIDLY EAST OF THE REGION SATURDAY.

SUNDAY WILL BE BETWEEN SYSTEMS WITH SOME HIGH CLOUDS AND A LITTLE
WARMER TEMPERATURES. ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL THEN DROP INTO THE
SOUTHWEST DURING THE DAY MONDAY. THIS SYSTEM TAKES A MORE OVERLAND
ROUTE AND MAY NOT HAVE AS MUCH MOISTURE TO WORK WITH. THE MEDIUM
RANGE MODELS THEN MOVE THIS SYSTEM OUT OF THE AREA WEDNESDAY FOR
PARTLY CLOUDY AND WARMER CONDITIONS ON THURSDAY.   ZELL

.TWC...WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 5000 FEET THROUGH TONIGHT FOR ZONES
       19/30.
       SNOW ADVISORY ABOVE 5000 FEET THROUGH TONIGHT FOR ZONES
       29/32/33/34/35.

Event by event

1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Santa Cruz County

When: January 12, 3:50 AM MST to 3:14 PM MST
Where: Santa Cruz County forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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

Every storm in Arizona in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, January 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: 5228021.