Heavy Snow, Northern Greenlee
- When
- February 25, 5:00 PM MST to February 26, 5:00 AM MST
- Where
- Northern Greenlee forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Heavy Snow in Arizona, February 25 to 26, 2003
Another winter storm system developed over the Pacific coast and dropped down over central and southern Arizona on February 25th and 26th. The best forcing associated with this system would mainly impact the White mountains in Northern Greenlee county along with strong up-slope winds.
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.
Another winter storm system developed over the Pacific coast and dropped down over central and southern Arizona on February 25th and 26th. The best forcing associated with this system would mainly impact the White mountains in Northern Greenlee county along with strong up-slope winds. Showers started out late on the 25th, with initial snow levels around 7500 feet. By the morning of the 26th, Hannagan Meadow recorded 12 inches of snow. Other snow reports included 8 inches on Mt. Graham and 6 inches on Mt. Lemmon .
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 Feb 25, 3:45 PM MST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 25, 3:45 PM MST, 1 hour 15 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED TYPOS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 345 PM MST WED FEB 25 2003 .SYNOPSIS...A SERIES OF WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE UNSETTLED WEATHER THIS WEEK. WE WILL SEE ADDITIONAL VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS TODAY AND TONIGHT. A SLOW DRYING TREND WILL BEGIN THURSDAY AS SHOWERS DIMINISH ACROSS SOUTHEAST ARIZONA WITH MOST PRECIPITATION NORTH OF TUCSON. ALONG WITH THIS...EXPECT A SLOW WARMING TREND INTO THE WEEKEND BEFORE ANOTHER CHANCE OF RAIN BY LATE SUNDAY. .DISCUSSION...HAD ENOUGH OF A BREAK THIS MORNING FOR SUNSHINE TO HELP THE SURFACE CLIMB TO NEAR CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURES. COOLING AT ALL LEVELS...ESPECIALLY MID LEVELS...HAS MADE FOR A LESS STABLE ATMOSPHERE WHICH WE HAVE STARTED TO FILL IN NICELY WITH CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON. WITH A WEAK IMPULSE CARVING UNDER THE EXITING LOW...WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO SEE SCATTERED PRECIPITATION INTO THE EVENING HOURS. ANOTHER LOW DIGGING THROUGH CALIFORNIA THURSDAY WILL TRACK THROUGH MAINLY NORTHERN ARIZONA FRIDAY...BRINGING US MORE WINDS AND CLOUDS WITH OUR MAIN CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION NORTH OF TUCSON. NEAR ZONAL OVER THE WEEKEND...AGAIN WITH IMPULSES TRANSLATING THROUGH THE CENTRAL BASIN BRINGING THE MAIN CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION NORTH OF OUR AREA. ANOTHER CHANCE AT VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW BY LATE SUNDAY AS A POSITIVELY TILTED IMPULSE DRAGGING BEHIND THE RECEDING MEAN TROUGH POSITION PUSHES THROUGH ARIZONA. NOT TERRIBLY COLD OR MOIST...BUT IT WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO WORK WITH STILL IN PLACE AS THERE WILL BE LITTLE TO DRY US OUT MUCH BETWEEN NOW AND THEN. STILL A MORE ACTIVE PATTERN THAN ANYTHING WE SAW IN JANUARY...JUST A QUESTION OF HOW FAR SOUTH FOR THE SOUTHERN SPLITS. M .TWC...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 25, 7:00 AM MST, 10 hours before
AZZ019-029>035-261400- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 700 AM MST TUE FEB 25 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST ARIZONA .DAY ONE...TODAY A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SNOW TO PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A HEAVY SNOW WARNING IS IN EFFECT TODAY AND TONIGHT ABOVE 6000 FEET FOR NORTHERN GREENLEE COUNTY...INCLUDING THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS BETWEEN 10 TO 14 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED BY WEDNESDAY MORNING ABOVE 6000 FEET. A SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT TODAY AND TONIGHT ABOVE 6000 FEET FOR SOUTHEAST PINAL...EASTERN PIMA AND THE UPPER GILA RIVER VALLEY. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS BETWEEN 6 AND 8 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED ABOVE 6000 FEET BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL PROVIDE A CONTINUED CHANCE OF VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. FOR MORE INFORMATION...SEE THE LATEST WEATHER BULLETINS: AWIPS ID WMO ID HEAVY SNOW WARNING PHXWSWTWC WWUS45 KTWC SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT PHXSPSTWC WWUS85 KTWC .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Ice Storm in Mississippi, February 25, 2003
- Ice Storm in Arkansas, February 25, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Tennessee, February 25, 2003
- Winter Weather in Kentucky, February 25, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Arkansas, February 25, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 25 to 26, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Missouri, February 25, 2003
- Winter Weather in Colorado, February 25, 2003
- Waterspouts in Eastern Pacific Coastal Waters, February 25, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Utah, February 25 to 28, 2003
- Winter Weather in Colorado, February 25 to 26, 2003
- Flood in Kentucky, February 25, 2003
More
Every storm in Arizona in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, February 2003
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: 5344505.