Arizona, 2005

Heavy Snow in Arizona, March 14 to 15, 2005

March 14 to 15, 2005 · NWS FGZ · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A strong cold front moved across northern Arizona Monday morning, March 15, bringing heavy snow and gusty north winds to the Mogollon Rim and Little Colorado River Valley. Snow continued to fall Monday evening over southern Navajo and Apache counties before ending by midnight.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
0
Injuries
3
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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.

A strong cold front moved across northern Arizona Monday morning, March 15, bringing heavy snow and gusty north winds to the Mogollon Rim and Little Colorado River Valley. Snow continued to fall Monday evening over southern Navajo and Apache counties before ending by midnight. Storm total snowfall amounts as of 9 AM Tuesday, March 16, include (in inches): AZ Snowbowl 11-13, East Flagstaff 13, Meteor Crater 11, Flagstaff Pulliam Airport 9, Hart Prairie 9, Mormon Lake 8, Winslow 8, Bellemont 6.5, Williams 5, Happy Jack 6, Blue Ridge 6-9, Holbrook 6, Forest Lakes 4, and Heber 4.The heavy snowfall, more than two inches an hour, hit Flagstaff just before the morning rush hour. This created havoc with traffic...more than 40 traffic accidents were reported in the Flagstaff area. Only three of the traffic accidents involved minor-injuries. There was an 11-mile backup on I-40's westbound lanes near Flagstaff.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Eastern Mogollon Rim

When
March 14, 5:00 AM MST to March 15, 3:00 AM MST
Where
Eastern Mogollon Rim forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.620, -111.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Little Colorado River Valley in Coconino County

When
March 14, 9:00 AM MST to March 15, 1:00 AM MST
Where
Little Colorado River Valley in Coconino County forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.620, -111.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County

When
March 14, 10:00 AM MST to March 15, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.400, -110.321 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County

When
March 14, 11:00 AM MST to March 15, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.396, -109.489 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Mogollon Rim

When
March 15, 3:00 AM MST to 11:00 PM MST
Where
Western Mogollon Rim forecast zone
Injuries
3 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, March 2005

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5444034, 5444035, 5444036, 5444037, 5444033.