Two storm systems moved through Southeast Arizona on December 25th and 26th. The system on December 25th was a lead system that moved through and produced rain and mountain snowfall generally above 6500 feet.
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 TWC wrote it up.
Two storm systems moved through Southeast Arizona on December 25th and 26th. The system on December 25th was a lead system that moved through and produced rain and mountain snowfall generally above 6500 feet. The follow up system on December 26th was a much colder storm with origins in the Gulf of Alaska that moved through Southeast Arizona with much lower snow levels.
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 Dec 25, 2:40 AM MST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.
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</html>HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ 150 PM MST WED DEC 24 2008 AZZ030-033-252100- UPPER GILA RIVER VALLEY-TUCSON METRO/MARANA/GREEN VALLEY- 150 PM MST WED DEC 24 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT ABOVE 6000 FEET...AND FRIDAY ABOVE 4500 FEET... .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY SNOW IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN LATE TONIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON AS A PAIR OF STORM SYSTEMS MOVE THROUGH ARIZONA. THE FIRST STORM IS CURRENTLY NEAR THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST AND WILL MOVE EAST INTO ARIZONA OVERNIGHT INTO CHRISTMAS DAY. THE SECOND AND MUCH COLDER STORM WILL DIVE OUT OF THE GULF OF ALASKA TODAY INTO THE GREAT BASIN ON CHRISTMAS DAY AND THEN SWEEP ACROSS THE STATE ON FRIDAY. THESE TWO SYSTEMS WILL BRING PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW ABOVE 6000 FEET ON CHRISTMAS DAY AND AND ABOVE 4500 FEET FRIDAY WITH THE GREATEST ACCUMULATION LIKELY OCCURRING LATE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. SNOW LEVELS MAY FALL BELOW 4000 FEET IN SOME LOCATIONS. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON ARE EXPECTED TO BE FROM 1 TO 6 INCHES BETWEEN 4500 AND 6000 FEET...AND 8 TO 16 INCHES ABOVE 6000 FEET. BEHIND THE SECOND SYSTEM...THE COMBINATION OF COLD AIR AND EARLIER PRECIPITATION COULD LEAD TO AREAS OF FROST FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY. FURTHERMORE...WIDESPREAD FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE ALSO LIKELY...AND POSSIBLY EVEN HARD FREEZE CONDITIONS LATE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. AZZ019-252100- NORTHERN GREENLEE COUNTY- 150 PM MST WED DEC 24 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM THURSDAY TO 5 PM MST FRIDAY... .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. LIGHT SNOW MAY DEVELOP LATE THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY TWO WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL IMPACT THE AREA WITH THE FIRST STARTING SNOW ON THURSDAY. THE SECOND AND MUCH COLDER STORM WILL DIVE OUT OF THE GULF OF ALASKA TODAY INTO THE GREAT BASIN ON CHRISTMAS DAY AND THEN SWEEP ACROSS THE STATE ON FRIDAY. THESE TWO SYSTEMS WILL BRING PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW ON CHRISTMAS DAY AND FRIDAY WITH THE GREATEST ACCUMULATION LIKELY OCCURRING LATE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 8 TO 20 INCHES...ALTHOUGH A FEW LOCATIONS COULD GET UP TO TWO FEET. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. AZZ029-032-034-035-252100- SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY-TOHONO OODHAM NATION-SANTA CRUZ COUNTY- COCHISE COUNTY- 150 PM MST WED DEC 24 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ARIZONA AND SOUTHEAST ARIZONA. ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 5 PM MST FRIDAY ABOVE 4500 FEET... .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A PAIR OF WINTER STORMS WILL MOVE IN OVER THE NEXT 36 HOURS. THE SECOND AND MUCH COLDER STORM WILL DIVE OUT OF THE GULF OF ALASKA TODAY INTO THE GREAT BASIN ON CHRISTMAS DAY AND THEN SWEEP ACROSS THE STATE ON FRIDAY. THESE SYSTEMS WILL BRING PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW ABOVE 4500 FEET LATE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. SNOW LEVELS MAY FALL BELOW 4000 FEET IN SOME LOCATIONS. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON ARE EXPECTED TO BE FROM 1 TO 5 INCHES BETWEEN 4500 AND 6000 FEET...AND 4 TO 10 INCHES ABOVE 6000 FEET. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Elevations above 6000 feet in Graham county had in excess of 1 foot of snowfall.
Hannagan Meadow at an elevation of about 9000 feet reported over 20 inches of snowfall.
Over one foot of snowfall occurred on the higher elevations of Mt. Lemmon and the Santa Catalina mountains.
Three inches of snowfall occurred in Oracle and heavy snow also occurred in the the higher elevations of Southeast Pinal county above 5000 feet.
Heavy snowfall occurred at Kitt Peak at an elevation just under 7000 feet.
Heavy snowfall occurred in the higher elevations of the Santa Rita Mountains in Santa Cruz County.
Heavy snowfall occurred in the Chiracahua and Huachuca Mountains in Cochise County.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, December 2008
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: 140291, 140290, 140322, 140323, 140324, 140325, 140326.