Heavy Snow and High Wind in Arizona, December 7 to 8, 2009

Name: Heavy Snow and High Wind in Arizona, December 7 to 8, 2009
Start: 2009-12-07T07:00
End: 2009-12-08T03:00
Location: Arizona

December 7 to 8, 2009 · NWS VEF · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

A Pacific storm system and associated cold front brought locally heavy snow and high winds to the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 VEF wrote it up.

A Pacific storm system and associated cold front brought locally heavy snow and high winds to the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin.

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 Las Vegas, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 7, 5:50 AM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 7, 5:50 AM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 7, 6:48 AM MST, 12 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
548 AM PST MON DEC 7 2009

AZZ001>003-036-CAZ519>527-NVZ014>022-080700-
NORTHWEST PLATEAU-LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-NORTHWEST DESERTS-
LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA-EASTERN SIERRA SLOPES-
OWENS VALLEY-WHITE MOUNTAINS OF INYO COUNTY-
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK-WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT-
EASTERN MOJAVE DESERT-MORONGO BASIN-CADIZ BASIN-
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY-UPPER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-
ESMERALDA AND CENTRAL NYE COUNTY-LINCOLN COUNTY-
NORTHEAST CLARK COUNTY-WESTERN CLARK AND SOUTHERN NYE COUNTY-
SHEEP RANGE-SPRING MOUNTAINS-LAS VEGAS VALLEY-
SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTY-
548 AM PST MON DEC 7 2009 /648 AM MST MON DEC 7 2009/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST
ARIZONA...SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SNOW FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 4000 FEET WILL BE THE MAIN HAZARD TODAY
AND TONIGHT. WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION WILL OCCUR ACROSS THE REGION
TODAY AND THIS EVENING THEN WILL TAPER OFF FROM WEST TO EAST
OVERNIGHT. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES CAN BE
GENERALLY BE EXPECTED ABOVE 4000 FEET. MOUNTAINS ABOVE 7000 FEET
IN SOUTHERN NEVADA AND NORTHWEST ARIZONA...ALONG WITH THE SOUTHERN
SIERRA...MAY SEE 1 TO 2 FEET. ESMERALDA AND CENTRAL NYE COUNTIES
SHOULD SEE THE LEAST AMOUNTS BUT STILL 4 TO 8 INCHES BY LATE THIS
EVENING. WINTER STORM WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT...SEE
THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE FOR DETAILS. STEADY RAINFALL
IN THE LOWER DESERT WILL MAINLY PRODUCE HAZARDOUS DRIVING
CONDITIONS DUE TO SLICK ROADS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS BETWEEN A
HALF-INCH AND AN INCH WILL BE COMMON. SIGNIFICANT FLOODING IS NOT
EXPECTED THOUGH LOCAL RUNOFF PROBLEMS MAY LEAD TO MINOR STREET
FLOODING OR PONDING OF LOW LYING AREAS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WILL BE DRY BEFORE A WEAKER PACIFIC STORM
MOVES INLAND THURSDAY BRINGING LIGHTER AMOUNTS OF RAIN AND SNOW.
ANOTHER PACIFIC STORM WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR WIDESPREAD
PRECIPITATION IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE REGION SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

JA

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 7, 5:51 AM MST, 1 hour 9 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northwest Deserts

When: December 7, 7:00 AM MST to December 8, 1:00 AM MST
Where: Northwest Deserts forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer

Nine inches of snow fell at Diamond M Ranch (5480').

Heavy Snow, Northwest Plateau

When: December 7, 3:00 PM MST to December 8, 3:00 AM MST
Where: Northwest Plateau forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 35.704, -113.758 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The observer in Colorado City measured nine inches of snow.

High Wind, Northwest Deserts

When: December 8, 1:08 AM MST
Where: Northwest Deserts forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

This gust occurred 14 miles SSE of Kingman.

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arizona in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, December 2009

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: 199605, 200960, 199606.