A strong spring storm system brought high winds to portions of the Little Colorado River Valley.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 strong spring storm system brought high winds to portions of the Little Colorado River Valley.
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 Apr 5, 3:25 AM MST, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 325 AM MST WED APR 05 2006 .SYNOPSIS...AN APPROACHING STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING STRONG WINDS...RAIN AND SNOW...AND THUNDERSTORMS TO NORTHERN ARIZONA TODAY. A COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA THROUGH THE DAY...BRINGING MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES...AND VERY WINDY CONDITIONS. ANOTHER DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT...BRINGING MORE RAIN AND SNOW. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING WARMER TEMPERATURES AND CLEARER SKIES BACK TO THE AREA LATE THURSDAY...AND INTO THE WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION...THE COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM IS PUSHING THROUGH EASTERN CALIFORNIA...NEARING THE COLORADO RIVER AT 09Z. THE FLOW HAS BEEN BACKING OVER ARIZONA LATE YESTERDAY EVENING...INTO THIS MORNING...THIS FLOW HAS BEEN PULLING DEEPER MOISTURE NORTHWARD INTO THE APPROACHING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM. FLOW ALOFT STILL FAIRLY STRONG...AND WITH APPROACHING FRONT AND TIGHTENING SFC PRESSURE GRADIENT FIELD WE WILL CONTINUE THE HIGH WIND WARNING ACROSS EASTERN AREAS AND THE WIND ADVISORY ACROSS WESTERN SECTIONS. THE FIRST PART OF THE TROUGH WILL LIFT NORTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA TODAY WITH SOME NEGATIVE TILT TO IT...MAINLY EFFECTING THE WESTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA...WITH THE STRONGEST LIFT (LOW AND MID-LEVEL FRONTOGENESIS AND MODERATE DIVQ AND OROGRAPHICS.) LAPSE RATES NOT AS IMPRESSIVE AS YESTERDAY VALUES HOWEVER 7.5 DEC C/KM IS STILL GOOD TO HELP ENHANCE LIFT. SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP TO 5500 FEET TO 6000 FEET FROM FLAGSTAFF WESTWARD THIS AFTERNOON AND FROM 6000 TO 8500 FEET TO THE EAST. OVERNIGHT...THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA KEEPING THE AREA IN A RATHER UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT...HOWEVER THE OROGRAPHICS WILL BE WEAK. THE MICROPHYSICS OVER NIGHT WILL BE GOOD WITH THE COLD POOL ALOFT. EXPECTING ANOTHER ROUND OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS WITH 2 TO 4 INCHES IN THE KAIBAB AND 1 TO 3 ELSEWHERE ABOVE 5500 FEET. SYSTEM MOVES OFF TO THE EAST THURSDAY AFTERNOON WITH RIDGING ACROSS THE AREA AND IMPROVING CONDITIONS. DRY AND WARM FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WITH A SHORTWAVE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHWEST STATES. NEXT SYSTEM WILL BEGIN TO EFFECT THE AREA LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY WITH INCREASING CLOUDS AND WINDS...BY WEDNESDAY OF NEXT WEEK THE SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO MOVE ON SHORE...AND BEGIN TO INCREASE CHCS OF PRECIP WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 12Z PACKAGE...A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL PUSH ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA TAF SITES/TWEB ROUTES TODAY. THIS WILL BRING STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WITH WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH FROM WINSLOW EASTWARD. ELSEWHERE...EXPECT GUSTS OF 35 TO 45 MPH. THE THREAT OF RAIN AND SNOW WILL BE ON THE INCREASE BECOMING LIKELY ACROSS THE MOGOLLON RIM NORTHWEST INTO SOUTHWEST UTAH. THE SNOW LEVEL WILL LOWER TO NEAR 5500 FEET BY THIS EVENING. EXPECT EXTENSIVE CEILING OF 1000 FEET AGL OR LOWER TO FORM OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN. THERE WILL ALSO BE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS. THERE ARE VERY STRONG WINDS ALOFT AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MIX SOME OF THESE WINDS TO THE SURFACE. THE THREAT OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ALONG WITH CEILINGS OF 2000 FEET AGL OR LOWER WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY. WILL BE AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING FOR WEDNESDAY 13Z TO 00Z THURSDAY FOR AZ ZONES 009<014-016-017-039-040. WIND ADVISORY FOR WEDNESDAY FROM 09Z TO 21Z FOR AZ ZONES 004>007-015. && TC/DM
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 645 AM MST WED APR 5 2006 AZZ004>018-037>040-060700- 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- 645 AM MST WED APR 5 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO...NORTHERN GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY .A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS ARIZONA TODAY. IN ADVANCE OF THIS FRONT...STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED. AS A RESULT...A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY ...NORTHEAST PLATEAU AREA...AND THE EASTERN MOGOLLON RIM. SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS NEAR 60 MPH ARE EXPECTED IN THE WARNING AREA. THERE IS ALSO A WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR A GOOD PORTION OF COCONINO COUNTY. HERE SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED BETWEEN 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS NEAR 45 MPH. FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE HIGH WIND WARNING AND THE WIND ADVISORY SEE OUR CURRENT PRODUCT (PHXNPWFGZ). THE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH WESTERN PORTIONS OF NORTHERN ARIZONA DURING THE MORNING HOURS...AND REACH THE ARIZONA/NEW MEXICO BORDER BY EARLY EVENING. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EMBEDDED WITHIN THE COLD FRONT...CAN POSSIBLY PRODUCE EVEN STRONGER WIND GUSTS. THE VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL DIMINISH BY THIS EVENING AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES EAST OF THE AREA. SNOW LEVELS WILL LOWER TO AROUND 5500 FEET DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 1 TO 3 INCHES IS LIKELY TODAY. THE UPPER LEVEL PORTION OF THE STORM WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA OVERNIGHT WITH ANOTHER 1 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW POSSIBLE. .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 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, April 2006
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: 5502275, 5502273, 5502274.