A cold Pacific storm system brought snow to much of northern Arizona with measurable snow down to 3400 feet elevation.
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 cold Pacific storm system brought snow to much of northern Arizona with measurable snow down to 3400 feet elevation.
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 30, 3:21 PM MST, 39 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 321 PM MST SUN DEC 30 2012 .SYNOPSIS...A PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SNOW SHOWERS TO NORTHERN ARIZONA TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. SNOW LEVELS WILL LOWER TO AROUND 3000 FEET BY MONDAY MORNING...WITH GENERALLY LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS EXPECTED ABOVE 4000 FEET. COLD TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE FOR THE UPCOMING WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...A LARGE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS CENTERED OVER CENTRAL NV AND SOUTHERN CA THIS AFTERNOON...JUST UPSTREAM FROM NORTHERN AZ. THE MAIN COLD POOL ALOFT IS PUSHING INTO SOUTHERN NV WITH LIGHT SHOWERS DEVELOPING ON RADAR ACROSS WESTERN AZ. SHOWERS WILL OVERSPREAD ALL OF NORTHERN AZ TONIGHT AS THE COLD TROUGH MOVES ACROSS THE STATE. SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY MONDAY EVENING BEFORE TAPERING OFF MONDAY NIGHT. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL OVERNIGHT BOTTOMING OUT AROUND 3000 FEET EARLY MONDAY AND REMAINING THERE THROUGH THE DAY. HIGH RESOLUTION MODELS HAVE BEEN HINTING AT A SLIGHTLY BETTER MOISTURE TAP DEVELOPING OVER SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE STATE WITH THE HIGHEST PRECIP AMOUNTS OVER SOUTHEASTERN AZ...REMAINING SOUTH OF OUR FORECAST AREA. THAT BEING SAID...DUE TO THE COLD CONVECTIVE NATURE OF THIS SYSTEM...AMOUNTS WILL BE DEPENDENT ON WHERE HEAVIER CONVECTIVE SHOWERS DEVELOP. WE ARE GENERALLY EXPECTING 1 TO 4 INCHES ABOVE 5000 FEET WITH UP TO AN INCH OR 2 POSSIBLE DOWN TO 4000 FEET. WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS SHOULD BE EXPECTED AND TRAVELERS SHOULD USE CAUTION...ESPECIALLY FOR THE LOWEST ELEVATIONS THAT MAY NOT HAVE HAD ACCUMULATING SNOW YET THIS YEAR. THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVIEST ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE OVER THE WHITE MTNS WHERE AMOUNTS WILL APPROACH 4 INCHES AND LOCALLY UP TO 6-8 INCHES OVER THE HIGHEST TERRAIN. CLEARING AND COLD CONDITIONS ARE IN STORE FOR MONDAY NIGHT (NEW YEAR'S EVE). AN UNSETTLED TROUGH PATTERN WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK WITH COLDER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SNOW SHOWERS. THE RETURN OF HIGH PRESSURE SHOULD BRING WARMER TEMPS BY THE END OF THE WEEK AND INTO NEXT WEEKEND. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 00Z PACKAGE...LOW PRESSURE AND COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS AZ DURING THE FCST PERIOD. RAIN/SNOW MAINLY WEST OF A KPAN-KPGA LINE AT 00Z...SPREADING EASTWARD OVERNIGHT. SNOW LEVELS 2500-3500 FEET BY END OF FCST PERIOD. AREAS MVFR WITH LOCAL IFR AND LIFR. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && PUBLIC.........MCS AVIATION.......DB FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 332 PM MST SUN DEC 30 2012 AZZ004>018-037>040-310715- 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- 332 PM MST SUN DEC 30 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 A COLD PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL SPREAD SHOWERS ACROSS THE REGION THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT...LASTING INTO MONDAY. 1 TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION IS POSSIBLE TONIGHT ABOVE 4000 FEET. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE WITH SNOW LEVELS DROPPING TO AROUND 3000 FEET BY EARLY MONDAY MORNING. AN ADDITIONAL INCH OR TWO OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE ABOVE 4000 FEET. SHOWERS WILL TAPER OFF LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING WITH CLEARING CONDITIONS RESULTING IN COLD TEMPERATURES NEW YEAR'S EVE.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Over eight inches of snow fell just north and northeast of Payson.
A spotter two miles north of McNary reported 8.3 inches of snow at an elevation of around 7400 feet.
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: 424248, 427841.