A strong storm system approaching Arizona brought very windy conditions to much of northern Arizona. The highest winds were recorded east of the San Fransisco Peaks near Flagstaff.
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.
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 storm system approaching Arizona brought very windy conditions to much of northern Arizona. The highest winds were recorded east of the San Fransisco Peaks near Flagstaff.
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 3, 9:40 AM MST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 940 AM MST SUN APR 3 2011 .SYNOPSIS...A STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY WITH VERY STRONG WINDS...A CHANCE OF SHOWERS...AND COOLER TEMPERATURES EXPECTED. FAIR WEATHER WILL RETURN MONDAY AND TUESDAY...BEFORE ANOTHER SHIFT TO UNSETTLED WEATHER FOR THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...A UPPER LEVEL LOW AND SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS AZ TODAY BRINGING STRONG WINDS...COOLER TEMPS...AND A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. THE COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED IN FAR NRN AZ THIS MORNING. BEHIND THE FRONT MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES...NORTHERLY WINDS...AND SCATTERED RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS WERE NOTED. FARTHER SOUTH...SKIES WERE PARTLY CLOUDY AND WINDS WERE FROM THE SOUTHWEST. THE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE QUICKLY ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST AND THE MAIN IMPACT WILL BE THE STRONG WINDS ACROSS NRN AZ TODAY. A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. SUSTAINED WINDS 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 45 TO 55 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE... ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY. RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS WILL SPREAD ACROSS FAR NRN AZ THIS MORNING. BY THIS AFTERNOON...A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE ESPECIALLY IN FAR NORTHEASTERN AZ. A FEW SHOWERS CAN BE EXPECTED AS FAR SOUTH AS THE MOGOLLON RIM WITH LITTLE CHANCE FARTHER SOUTH. HAVE UPDATED POP/WX GRIDS TO INCREASE CHANCES OF SHOWERS ALONG THE NRN BORDER REGION AND TO ADD A CHANCE OF THUNDER IN THE NORTHEAST. SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPS ARE EXPECTED ON MONDAY BUT OTHERWISE IT SHOULD BE DRY WITH DIMINISHING WINDS. ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS RETURN BY TUESDAY. A LONG-WAVE TROUGH DEVELOPS IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC BY MIDWEEK USHERING IN AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF UNSETTLED WEATHER. SHOWER ACTIVITY SHOULD INCREASE LATE WEDNESDAY. A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES WILL MOVE THROUGH THE LONG-WAVE TROUGH DURING THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK AND THERE WILL BE AN ONGOING CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS DURING THIS PERIOD. MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ARE FAIRLY SIMILAR WITH BRINGING MUCH LOWER SNOW LEVELS AND MORE PCPN COMPARED TO THE CURRENT SYSTEM. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 18Z PACKAGE...EXPECT SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 15-30KT WITH GUSTS TO 45 KT...FASTEST WINDS ALONG AND NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. WINDS WILL BECOME W-NW AND DIMINISH AFTER 06Z MON. LOCAL MVFR CEILINGS WITH WIDELY SCATTERED -SHRA/ -SHSN AND ISOLATED -TSRA WILL MOVE SOUTHWARD FROM UTAH...REACHING AS FAR SOUTH AS INTERSTATE 40 BY 00Z. WIDELY SCATTERED -SHRA/-SHSN WILL PERSIST ACROSS NORTHERN APACHE COUNTY TONIGHT...ELSEWHERE VFR CONDITIONS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...TODAY THROUGH MONDAY...A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA TODAY BRINGING AN INCREASE IN SOUTHWEST WINDS AHEAD OF IT FOR MOST OF THE DAY...ALONG WITH COOLER TEMPS AND HIGHER HUMIDITY. A CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS IS FORECAST FOR AREAS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40. EXPECT DRY WEATHER AND LIGHTER WINDS FOR MONDAY. TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY..ON TUESDAY...ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL RETURN WITH DRY CONDITIONS AND LIGHT SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS. UNSETTLED WEATHER RETURNS FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WITH A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION AND INCREASING SOUTHWEST WINDS. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR AZZ004>017-039-040. && PUBLIC................DB AVIATION/FIRE WX......DL FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 930 AM MST SUN APR 3 2011 AZZ004>017-039-040-040300- KAIBAB PLATEAU-MARBLE AND GLEN CANYONS-GRAND CANYON COUNTRY- COCONINO PLATEAU-YAVAPAI COUNTY MOUNTAINS- NORTHEAST PLATEAUS AND MESAS HWY 264 NORTHWARD-CHINLE VALLEY- CHUSKA MOUNTAINS AND DEFIANCE PLATEAU- LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN COCONINO COUNTY- LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN NAVAJO COUNTY- LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN APACHE COUNTY- WESTERN MOGOLLON RIM-EASTERN MOGOLLON RIM-WHITE MOUNTAINS- BLACK MESA AREA-NORTHEAST PLATEAUS AND MESAS SOUTH OF HWY 264- 930 AM MST SUN APR 3 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL ARIZONA...NORTHEAST ARIZONA AND WEST CENTRAL ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT VERY STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP TODAY WITH GUSTS FROM 40 TO 55 MPH. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF ARIZONA NORTH AND EAST OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM MST THIS EVENING. THESE STRONG WINDS MAY PRODUCE AREAS OF BLOWING DUST...INCLUDING PORTIONS OF THE INTERSTATE 40 CORRIDOR FROM FLAGSTAFF TO THE NEW MEXICO BORDER. TRAVEL MAY BE IMPACTED DUE TO POOR VISIBILITY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY UNSETTLED WEATHER CONDITIONS MAY RETURN UNDER BROAD LOW PRESSURE FOR THE LATTER HALF OF THE COMING WEEK. MUCH COOLER DAYTIME TEMPS...GUSTY DAYTIME WINDS...AND CHANCES FOR SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED. THE BEST CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION ARE CURRENTLY ANTICIPATED AROUND WEDNESDAY AND AGAIN FROM LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY...THOUGH THIS TIMING MAY WELL CHANGE. THESE SYSTEMS WILL LIKELY BE WETTER THAN THE CURRENT STORM SYSTEM. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. 41
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High winds were felt in Doney Park east of the San Fransisco Peaks along Highway 89.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, April 2011
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: 308567.