A late season low pressure system moved across Arizona numerous showers, strong winds, and blowing dust.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 late season low pressure system moved across Arizona numerous showers, strong winds, and blowing dust.
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 26, 9:25 AM MST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 925 AM MST THU APR 26 2012 .SYNOPSIS...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS ARIZONA TODAY BRINGING WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WITH GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS AND MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES. FAIR WEATHER WILL RETURN TO THE REGION FROM FRIDAY ONWARD. && .DISCUSSION...THIS MORNINGS SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS THE LOW CENTER CROSSING THE CALIFORNIA ARIZONA BORDER NEAR CIBOLA AND BLYTHE. A WEAKENING FRONTAL BAND...WITH HEAVIER RAINFALL...IS APPROACHING YAVAPAI COUNTY FROM THE SOUTHWEST. WIND GUSTS KICKED UP EARLIER THAN EXPECTED IN THE LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY NEAR WINSLOW...CAUSING US TO CHANGE THE START TIME FROM NOON TO 8 AM MST ON OUR WIND ADVISORY FOR NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA. AS OF 830 AM MST MOST OF THE RAINFALL HAS OCCURRED ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. EXPECT THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO SPREAD NORTH AND EASTWARD THROUGH THE DAY AS THE LOW MOVES TOWARDS THE FOUR CORNERS. && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO APPROACH WRN YAVAPAI AND COCONINO COUNTIES BY MID MORNING...THEN CONTINUE EASTWARD ACROSS THE STATE REACHING A GRAND CANYON-FLAGSTAFF-PAYSON LINE BY NOON... THEN THE ERN AND NERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE BY LATE AFTERNOON. MODERATE CONVECTIVE INSTABILITY WILL BE PRESENT AND COMBINE WITH STRONG DEEP-LAYER WIND SHEAR AND LOW-LEVEL HELICITY TO SUPPORT ORGANIZED CONVECTION. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH STRONG CONVECTIVE WINDS AND LARGE HAIL POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE WRN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA...WITH LESSER CHANCES ACROSS THE EASTERN PORTIONS. NON-CONVECTIVE WINDS ACROSS THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE DURING THE DAY WITH GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE...THUS A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THESE LOCATIONS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1/4 TO 3/4 INCH ARE EXPECTED WITH THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS IN YAVAPAI COUNTY...NRN GILA COUNTY...AND THE WESTERN MOGOLLON RIM. SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN HIGH AND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE ONLY EXPECTED ACROSS THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS ABOVE 9000 FEET. IMPROVING WEATHER CAN BE EXPECTED ON FRIDAY WITH A FEW LINGERING SHOWERS ACROSS THE NERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE. FAIR WEATHER AND WARMER TEMPS WILL RETURN OVER THE WEEKEND AND CONTINUE INTO NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 18Z PACKAGE...WIDESPREAD RAIN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO COCONINO...YAVAPAI AND NRN GILA COUNTIES THIS MORNING WILL SPREAD EAST INTO APACHE AND NAVAJO COUNTIES THIS AFTERNOON. EXPECT MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS WITH THE HEAVIER SHOWERS/TSTORMS. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY HAVE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS OVER 40 KT. AFT 00Z FRI...IMPROVING CONDITIONS MOVE INTO SOUTHWESTERN AZ AND SPREAD EASTWARD TONIGHT ALTHOUGH AREAS OF MVFR CIGS MAY LINGER ON THE WESTERN SLOPES OF THE MOGOLLON RIM AND KAIBAB PLATEAU. SFC WINDS S-SW 10-25 KT WITH GUSTS 30-40 KT...WINDS SHIFTING TO SW-W AS THE PRECIPITATION ARRIVES. FASTEST WINDS EAST OF A KPGA-KPAN LINE. WEST WINDS 5-15 KT TONIGHT. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER... AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS ARIZONA TODAY. RAIN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP WEST OF PAGE TO PAYSON LINE THIS MORNING AND MOVE EASTWARD THIS AFTERNOON. GUSTY SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST 20 FOOT WINDS WILL BE FOUND IN NAVAJO AND APACHE COUNTIES BY LATE MORNING. THE WIND DIRECTION WILL SHIFT TO SOUTHWEST TO WEST ACROSS THE AREA AND GENERALLY TIMED TO THE PRECIPITATION ARRIVAL. RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS SHOULD RUN FROM .25 TO .75 INCHES ALONG THE MOGOLLON RIM...GILA AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES WITH LIGHTER AMOUNTS TO THE NORTHEAST. SNOW LEVELS SHOULD BE ABOVE 8000 FT. WARMER AND DRIER CONDITIONS WILL RETURN FOR FRIDAY. SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY...DRY WEATHER WILL CONTINUE WITH A WARMING TREND AND GENERALLY LIGHT WINDS. AFTERNOON MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES BELOW 15 PERCENT FOR AREAS BELOW 6500 FEET THIS WEEKEND. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM MST FOR AZZ009>014-016-017-039-040 && PUBLIC......................BOHLIN/DB AVIATION....................JJ FIREWX......................DL FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 1222 PM MST THU APR 26 2012 AZZ004>018-037>040-270300- 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- NORTHERN GILA COUNTY-YAVAPAI COUNTY VALLEYS AND BASINS- OAK CREEK AND SYCAMORE CANYONS-BLACK MESA AREA- NORTHEAST PLATEAUS AND MESAS SOUTH OF HWY 264- 1222 PM MST THU APR 26 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA...NORTH CENTRAL ARIZONA...NORTHEAST ARIZONA AND WEST CENTRAL ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT LOW PRESSURE AND A COLD FRONT WILL BRING UNSETTLED WEATHER TO THE REGION TODAY. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL ACCOMPANY THE FRONT AS IT MOVES ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA. A FEW OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH STRONG WINDS NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS REGION. SOUTHWEST WIND GUSTS IN NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON WILL RANGE FROM 40 TO 50 MPH. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA UNTIL 8 PM MST. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY 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.
1 dust storm, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Blowing dust and sand reduced the visibility to near zero along Highway 191 from Chinle to Many Farms. The wind was sustained at about 30 MPH range gusting into the 50 MPH range.
The ASOS at the St Johns Airport measured a peak wind gust of 59 MPH at 127 PM MST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, April 2012
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: 375865, 375864.