Arizona, 2012High Wind in Arizona, December 25, 2012
December 25, 2012 · NWS FGZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone
Very strong northwest winds behind a cold front hit the Kachina Peaks just north of Flagstaff on Christmas day. The sensor was damaged in the wind event.
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
Very strong northwest winds behind a cold front hit the Kachina Peaks just north of Flagstaff on Christmas day. The sensor was damaged in the wind event.
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 Flagstaff, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 25, 4:05 AM MST, 4 hours 55 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 25, 4:05 AM MST, 4 hours 55 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
405 AM MST TUE DEC 25 2012
.SYNOPSIS...DRY AND COLD CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FOR THIS CHRISTMAS
DAY...ALONG WITH NORTHEAST WINDS. THE NEXT CHANCE FOR RAIN AND SNOW
SHOWERS WILL ARRIVE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...AS AN EVEN COLDER STORM
SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE SOUTHWEST. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE OF
MAINLY SNOW SHOWERS TO THE AREA THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. DRY WEATHER
WILL RETURN AGAIN BY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.
&&
.DISCUSSION...A S/WV RIDGE WILL TRANSITION ACROSS THE STATE TODAY
BEHIND YESTERDAYS TROUGH...WHICH IS ALREADY IN EASTERN NEW MEXICO.
DRY AND COLD AIR WILL REMAIN AT THE SURFACE...ALONG WITH BLUSTERY
NORTHEAST WINDS. THIS S/WV RIDGE IS AHEAD OF ANOTHER EVEN COLDER
TROUGH NEAR 135W/45N. THIS TROUGH WILL MOVE INTO ARIZONA WEDNESDAY
WITH GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS AND A FEW SHOWERS DEVELOPING BY THE
AFTERNOON. A VERY COLD AIRMASS WILL THEN SETTLE INTO THE AREA
WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. 500MB TEMPS WITH THIS TROUGH
WILL BE AROUND -30C FOR AT LEAST 24 HOURS. THIS IS JUST WAY TO COLD
AND POTENTIALLY UNSTABLE TO STAY DRY...AND CONVECTIVE SHOWERS WILL
BE LIKELY BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
DRY NORTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL DEVELOP AGAIN BY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
AHEAD OF YET ANOTHER TROUGH. MODELS ARE NOT DOING WELL WITH THIS
TROUGH BY NEXT WEEKEND...VARYING WILDLY IN PLACEMENT AS THE SYSTEM
CLOSES OFF IN SPLIT FLOW UNDER A DEVELOPING EPAC RIDGE. TRENDS HAVE
BEEN BRING THE SYSTEM FARTHER EAST...AND GRIDS HAVE BEEN PUSHED IN
THIS DIRECTION FOR NOW.
&&
.AVIATION...FOR THE 12Z PACKAGE...WINDS BECOMING EAST-NORTHEAST
FOR MOST AREAS TODAY AT 10 KTS OR LESS. VFR CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED...THOUGH MID AND HIGH CLOUDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE BY
THIS AFTERNOON. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS.
&&
.FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.
&&
PUBLIC.........PETERSON
AVIATION.......MCS
FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT
WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF
High Wind, Western Mogollon Rim
- When
- December 25, 9:00 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
- Where
- Western Mogollon Rim forecast zone
- Measured
- 76 kt (87 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
- Coordinates
- 35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A wind sensor at 11,526 feet on Agassiz Peak reported wind gusts over 80 MPH for 30 minutes. The winds gusted over 60 MPH for close to 6 hours. The wind sensor was damaged by the wind. Trees were knocked down near that elevations. A local ski resort employee said that the wind likely gusted over 100 MPH before the sensor was damaged.
- 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.
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Texas, December 25, 20121 death · $771,000 · EF3 · 9 events
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, December 25, 20129 injured · $2.8 million · EF3 · 3 events
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Arkansas, December 25 to 26, 20121 death · $116 million · 45 events
- Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, December 25, 20121 death · $1.5 million · EF2 · 15 events
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Mississippi, December 25, 201213 injured · $838,000 · EF2 · 31 events
- Tornadoes and Flood in Louisiana, December 25 to 29, 20121 injured · $4.0 million · EF2 · 24 events
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Louisiana, December 25, 20121 death · $100,000 · EF1 · 2 events
- Heavy Snow and Hail in Texas, December 25, 201216 injured · $1.2 million · 1 in hail · 6 events
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Tennessee, December 25 to 26, 20121 death · 9 events
- Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, December 25, 20122 injured · EF2 · 21 events
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, December 25, 2012$10,000 · EF2 · 4 events
- Damaging Wind and Astronomical Low Tide in Texas, December 25 to 29, 2012$754,000 · 50 kt wind · 4 events
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: 424238.