Winter Storm in Arizona, November 29, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Arizona, November 29, 2001
Start: 2001-11-29T15:00
End: 2001-11-29T20:00
Location: Arizona

November 29, 2001 · NWS FGZ · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The first storm of the season with measurable snow caused dozens of rush-hour traffic accidents. Most of the accidents occurred on Flagstaff City streets as the roads became snow packed and icy.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 5
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

The first storm of the season with measurable snow caused dozens of rush-hour traffic accidents. Most of the accidents occurred on Flagstaff City streets as the roads became snow packed and icy. City police handled more than 40 accident calls. County officials reported less than ten accidents. Jack-knifed semis caused east bound traffic on I-40 to come to a standstill 5 miles east of Williams. There was a fatal crash on I-40 three miles east of Seligman. A man lost control of his van on the icy road, overturned multiple times and was ejected. He was transported to a hospital in Kingman where he died the following day.

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 Nov 29, 2:30 PM MST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 29, 2:30 PM MST, 30 minutes before

NORTHERN ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
230 PM MST THU NOV 29 2001

.SYNOPSIS...WIDESPREAD SNOW AND LOW ELEVATION RAIN WILL SPREAD FROM
WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT. RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS WILL
LAST WELL INTO FRIDAY AFTERNOON OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF NORTHERN
AND CENTRAL ARIZONA. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING WARMER AND DRIER
CONDITIONS TO THE AREA OVER THE WEEKEND. ANOTHER PACIFIC STORM
SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW BACK TO THE AREA BY THE
START OF NEXT WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...UPPER TROUGH MOVING RAPIDLY TOWARDS NORTHERN ARIZONA
WITH GOOD 700 MB FRONT REFLECTION IN MOHAVE COUNTY. DECENT MOISTURE
VALUES AHEAD AND BEHIND THE FRONT...EVEN LOOKS LIKE A FAIR AMOUNT OF
THE COASTAL MOISTURE MADE IT OVER THE RANGES AND INTO THE DESERTS.
WITH THIS IN MIND...WILL FORECAST QPF AMOUNTS WELL ABOVE THE AVN
FORECAST TONIGHT...BUT BELOW THE VERY WET MESO-ETA. WILL STAY BELOW
ADVISORY LEVELS...BUT THIS WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED CAREFULLY. BEST
MICRO-PHYSICS END AROUND MIDNIGHT TONIGHT...AND ONLY MOISTURE
REMAINING IS FROM ABOUT 650 MB AND UNDER. THIS IS ENOUGH FOR SOME
SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE UPSLOPE AREAS...BUT EVERYONE ELSE SHOULD SEE
DECREASED ACTIVITY. THIS REMAINS THE CASE UNTIL NOON FRIDAY...WHEN
A SECONDARY TROUGH MOVES THROUGH CENTRAL ARIZONA. MOISTURE VALUES
WITH THIS TROUGH ARE IMPRESSIVE...AND SHOULD BE ENOUGH FOR LIGHT
ACCUMULATING SNOWS OVER THE RIM COUNTRY AGAIN FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DIMINISH OVERNIGHT...THINK CLOUD COVER
WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THESE FROM BEING A PROBLEM. RIDGE MOVES
QUICKLY OVER THE AREA SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...WITH WARMING
TEMPERATURES AND MUCH LESS WIND. CLOUD COVER AHEAD OF NEXT TROUGH
WILL BEGIN INCREASING SUNDAY AFTERNOON...WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS OVER THE FAR NORTH LATE IN THE DAY.

FOR THE EXTENDED...TROUGH MOVES INTO THE STATE MONDAY PER AVN TIMING
AND CLEAR THE AREA TUESDAY. ANOTHER STRONGER TROUGH WILL MOVE INTO
POSITION BEHIND THIS...WITH PRECIPITATION POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY. IF
THIS SYSTEM SLOWS ANY...PRECIPITATION WILL LINGER INTO THURSDAY AS
WELL. DO NOT WANT TO PLAY WITH TIMING THAT LATE IN THE EXTENDED.
WILL JUST PAINT ALL FOUR DAYS WITH A CHANCE OF MOUNTAIN SNOW AND
VALLEY RAIN FOR NOW. PETERSON.

.FGZ...NONE.

.CODED TEMPERATURES/POPS FOR SELECTED CITIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA

CITY             TEMPERATURES LO/HI           PROBABILITY OF PRECIP
                 TON FRI   SAT     SUN        TON FRI   SAT     SUN
FLAGSTAFF        023/033 024/040 018/041      080 060 040 000 000 000
WINSLOW          028/042 025/047 022/050      040 030 030 000 000 000
PRESCOTT         026/045 025/052 024/053      040 030 020 000 000 000
PAGE             029/040 028/045 026/048      070 050 030 000 000 000
WINDOW ROCK      020/032 019/037 017/040      060 050 050 000 000 000
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                  TEMPERATURES LO/HI
                  TON FRI     SAT       SUN
CANYON DE CHELLY  026/034   025/039   023/042
COTTONWOOD        032/054   031/061   030/062
GRAND CANYON      024/035   025/042   019/043
GREER             022/032   023/039   017/040
HEBER             024/038   025/045   019/046
JACOB LAKE        023/028   024/035   018/036
NAVAJO N.M.       026/027   025/032   023/035
PAYSON            027/047   026/054   025/055
SEDONA            033/050   032/057   031/058
SELIGMAN          020/047   019/054   018/055
SHOW LOW          029/039   030/046   024/047
ST. JOHNS         025/041   022/046   019/049
WUPATKI N.M.      033/042   030/047   027/050

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Western Mogollon Rim

When: November 29, 3:00 PM MST to 8:00 PM MST
Where: Western Mogollon Rim forecast zone
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Yavapai County Mountains

When: November 29, 3:00 PM MST to 8:00 PM MST
Where: Yavapai County Mountains forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.600, -112.554 (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, Yavapai County Mountains	2001-11-30	54	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

Every storm in Arizona in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, November 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: 5271257, 5271305.