A winter storm brought strong wind to many locations across northern Arizona with gusts over 50 MPH. There were numerous reports of broken tree limbs and other minor wind damage.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS FGZ wrote it up.
A winter storm brought strong wind to many locations across northern Arizona with gusts over 50 MPH. There were numerous reports of broken tree limbs and other minor wind damage. Part of the roof on Camp Verde's Town Hall was ripped off. The Black Canyon fire station also suffered roof damage. The strong wind caused power outages in the Flagstaff area. Some wind gust reports include: Bright Angel 65 MPH, Grand Canyon 44 MPH, Crown King 49 MPH, Winslow 59 MPH, Flagstaff 53 MPH, and Sunset Point 54 MPH.
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 Dec 29, 3:45 AM MST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF 345 AM MST WED DEC 29 2004 .SYNOPSIS...A STRONG PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING WIDESPREAD RAIN AND HIGHER ELEVATION SNOW TO MUCH OF ARIZONA TODAY AND TONIGHT. IN ADDITION...EXPECT STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS TODAY...MAINLY EAST OF FLAGSTAFF. DRIER WEATHER IS EXPECTED THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. ANOTHER WEATHER SYSTEM IS EXPECTED FOR THE WEEKEND...WITH RAIN AND SNOW RETURNING TO THE NORTHLAND. && .DISCUSSION...THE STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT HAD BEEN SITTING OFF THE WEST COAST HAS FINALLY BEGUN TO PUSH INLAND THIS MORNING. IN ADVANCE OF THE UPPER LEVEL LOW...STRONG WARM ADVECTION WAS OCCURRING IN THE SOUTHERLY FLOW. THIS WAA HAS BEEN SO STRONG THAT IT HAS OVERWHELMED THE ADIABATIC COOLING EFFECTS FROM LOWERING HGHTS. AS A CONSEQUENCE...SNOW LEVELS ARE CONSIDERABLY HIGHER THAN ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED. LATEST REPORTS AND RADAR CROSS SECTIONS OF THE MELTING LEVEL SUGGEST SNOW LEVELS NEAR 8000-8500 FEET. THIS HAS MAJOR IMPLICATIONS ON THE FCST. WITH WARMER TEMPS AND HIGHER SNOW LEVELS...IT NOW APPEARS THAT MOST PCPN WILL FALL AS RAIN WITH ONLY THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS RECEIVING SNOW. WILL CANCEL THE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR ZONES 06/15/16 AND DOWNGRADE WSW TO A SNOW ADVISORY FOR ZONE 4...WHERE TEMPS AND THICKNESSES ARE LOWER AND SUPPORT A LOWER SNOW LEVEL. HIGHEST ELEVATIONS AND MTNS SHOULD STILL SEE MODERATE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS DURING THE DAY TODAY. RADAR VERY ACTIVE WITH AREAS AND BANDS OF RAIN SHOWERS...AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS...MOVING ACROSS THE AREA. RADAR-DERIVED STORM TOTALS PLUS MESONET OBSERVATIONS INDICATE THAT RAINFALL AMOUNTS HAVE BEEN GENERALLY LESS THAN ONE INCH IN MOST LOCATIONS...BUT A FEW SPOTS HAVE HAD MORE WITH CROWN KING AT 1.5 INCHES. WILL MAINTAIN THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR YAVAPAI AND NRN GILA COUNTIES THROUGH THIS EVENING. WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM TO 6 PM TODAY FOR THE LCR VALLEY AND ADJACENT ZONES FOR WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH. HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THIS VERIFYING SINCE THERE WILL BE EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER AND PCPN MUCH OF THE DAY...AND THESE CONDITIONS TEND TO SUPPRESS THE STRONG WINDS. WILL LEAVE AS IS FOR NOW AND LET DAY SHIFT MAKE A FINAL DECISION. STORM EXITS TO THE EAST ON THURSDAY WITH IMPROVING CONDITIONS. OVERALL PATTERN FOR THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS IS FOR UNSETTLED WEATHER WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS MOST DAYS. BEST CHANCES APPEAR TO BE SATURDAY...AND AGAIN ON MON/TUE. DB && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...SNOW ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM MST TONIGHT ABOVE 7000 FEET AZZ 004. WIND ADVISORY FROM 8 AM MST TO 6 PM MST AZZ 012>014-017-040. FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 8 PM MST AZZ 008-018-037-038. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 700 AM MST WED DEC 29 2004 AZZ004>018-037>040-301400- WESTERN MOGOLLON RIM-GRAND CANYON COUNTRY-YAVAPAI COUNTY MOUNTAINS- YAVAPAI COUNTY VALLEYS AND BASINS-OAK CREEK AND SYCAMORE CANYONS- MARBLE AND GLEN CANYONS-KAIBAB PLATEAU-COCONINO PLATEAU- NORTHEAST PLATEAU AND MESAS HWY 264 NORTHWARD- NORTHEAST PLATEAU AND MESAS SOUTH OF HWY 264- CHINLE VALLEY-CHUSKA MOUNTAINS AND DEFIANCE PLATEAU- BLACK MESA AREA-LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN COCONINO COUNTY- LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN NAVAJO COUNTY- LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN APACHE COUNTY- EASTERN MOGOLLON RIM-WHITE MOUNTAINS-NORTHERN GILA COUNTY- 700 AM MST WED DEC 29 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO...NORTHERN GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY A STRONG PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL TRAVERSE ARIZONA TODAY BRINGING WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW ALONG WITH STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM MST THIS EVENING. SEE PHXFFAFGZ FOR DETAILS. A SNOW ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM MST THIS EVENING. SEE PHXWSWFGZ FOR DETAILS. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS EVENING. SEE PHXNPWFGZ FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 strong wind, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, December 2004
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: 5432407, 5432404, 5432405, 5432406.