A cold front moving across northern Arizona along with efficient up slope winds brought heavy snow to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Kaibab Plateau.
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 cold front moving across northern Arizona along with efficient up slope winds brought heavy snow to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Kaibab Plateau.
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 Dec 24, 4:45 AM MST, 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 445 AM MST MON DEC 24 2012 .SYNOPSIS...A PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA TODAY AND INTO THIS EVENING. THIS STORM WILL BRING AREAS OF LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW...COLDER TEMPERATURES...AND GUSTY WINDS. DRY AND COLD CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED CHRISTMAS DAY. THE NEXT CHANCE FOR RAIN AND SNOW WILL ARRIVE LATE WEDNESDAY LASTING INTO EARLY FRIDAY. && .DISCUSSION...A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY OVER SOUTHERN NEVADA WILL MOVE INTO NORTHWEST ARIZONA AFTER SUNRISE TODAY...AND TOWARD THE WESTERN RIM BY EARLY AFTERNOON. THE FRONT WILL THEN MOVE TOWARD THE WHITE MOUNTAINS BY LATE AFTERNOON...AND THEN QUICKLY OUT OF THE STATE BY ABOUT MIDNIGHT MST TONIGHT. THIS SYSTEM IS MOISTURE STARVED...BUT WILL CONTAIN A FEW HOURS OF DECENT FRONTAL DYNAMIC COINCIDING WITH A BRIEF PERIOD OF SHALLOW INSTABILITY. THIS WILL BE GOOD FOR ABOUT AN INCH OF NEW SNOW IN MOST PLACES ABOVE 6000 FEET...WITH A BIT MORE UP NORTH WHERE THE INSTABILITY LAYER WILL BE DEEPER. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL BECOME A BIT GUSTY AHEAD OF THE FRONT TODAY...BUT WILL STAY 5 TO 10 KNOTS BELOW CRITERIA. A S/WV RIDGE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION LATER TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...WITH VERY COLD TEMPERATURES ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE TROUGH FROM TODAY. ANOTHER VERY COLD...BUT MORE UNSTABLE SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH OUR REGION LATE WEDNESDAY...THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL ALSO BE MOISTURE STARVED...BUT WILL HAVE A BETTER CHANCE AT GENERATING INSTABILITY SNOW SHOWERS DURING THE DAY THURSDAY. RIDGING THEN RETURNS FOR NEXT WEEKEND. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 12Z PACKAGE...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS THE STATE TODAY WILL BRING INCREASING CLOUDS WITH SHRA/SHSN SPREADING SOUTH ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA. AREAS OF MVFR AND LOCAL IFR CONDITIONS POSSIBLE IN THE HEAVIER SHOWERS AND ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN. IN ADDITION...GUSTY W TO SW WINDS 10-20 KTS WITH GUSTS TO 25-35 KTS EXPECTED THROUGH 00-01Z. SHOWER ACTIVITY DIMINISHING BY 03-06Z. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && PUBLIC.........PETERSON AVIATION.......MCS FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 400 PM MST SUN DEC 23 2012 AZZ004>018-037>040-240700- 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- 1000 AM MST SUN DEC 23 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO...NORTHERN GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND MONDAY A WEAK STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO ARIZONA LATE TONIGHT AND WILL EXIT THE STATE BY MONDAY EVENING. THIS STORM WILL BRING COLDER AND WINDY WEATHER TO THE AREA...ALONG WITH AREAS OF LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW. LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE ABOVE 6000 FEET BY EARLY MONDAY AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN FROM THE MOGOLLON RIM NORTHWARD. MOST AREAS IN THESE LOCATIONS WILL SEE AN INCH OR TWO OF NEW SNOW...WITH LOCALLY AS MUCH AS 3 INCHES NEAR THE UTAH BORDER. .DAYS THREE THROUGH SEVEN...CHRISTMAS DAY THROUGH SATURDAY AFTER A BREAK CHRISTMAS DAY AND EARLY WEDNESDAY...ANOTHER COLD STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING AREAS OF RAIN AND SNOW BACK THE REGION WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY OR FRIDAY. THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE A BIT MORE SNOWFALL...AS WELL AS VERY COLD TEMPERATURES. .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 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
A spotter at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (over 8200 feet elevation) reported 11.5 inches of snow.
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, December 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: 424237.