A low pressure system brought heavy snow to portions of northeast Arizona. Lighter amounts of snow fell along and north of the Mogollon Rim/Interstate 40 corridor.
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 low pressure system brought heavy snow to portions of northeast Arizona. Lighter amounts of snow fell along and north of the Mogollon Rim/Interstate 40 corridor.
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 Feb 2, 3:45 AM MST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 345 AM MST THU FEB 2 2012 .SYNOPSIS... A WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL BRING SCATTERED LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ALONG AND NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM THROUGH TONIGHT. MUCH COOLER HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED THROUGH FRIDAY. DRY WEATHER WITH A WARMING TREND WILL DEVELOP FOR THE WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...DOPPLER RADAR WAS SHOWING SCATTERED LIGHT SHOWERS ALONG AND NORTH OF I-40 EARLY THIS MORNING AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH NORTHERN ARIZONA. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE INTO THE NORTHLAND THIS AFTERNOON WITH FURTHER COOLING ALOFT. MODEL SOUNDING ARE SHOWING DECENT INSTABILITY. THUS ADDITIONAL SCATTERED LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED...BUT ANY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS FOR MOST OF US WILL BE UNDER ONE INCH. MAX TEMPERATURES TODAY AND FRIDAY WILL BE BELOW NORMAL. DRYING RETURNS RAPIDLY ON FRIDAY FROM WEST TO EAST. FROM SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED WITH A GRADUAL WARM UP THROUGH TUESDAY. PROGS STILL ARE BRINGING IN MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUD COVER STARTING LATE SUNDAY AS MILD SW FLOW RETURNS FROM THE PACIFIC. PROGS ARE COMING INTO AGREEMENT THAT A CLOSED LOW WILL DROP SOUTHEASTWARD THROUGH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN THE TUESDAY NIGHT/ WEDNESDAY TIME FRAME AND WE HAVE ADDED A CHANCE OF SHOWERS FOR OUR AREA. && .AVIATION... FOR THE 12Z PACKAGE...LOW PRESSURE MOVING INTO NORTHERN ARIZONA TODAY WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS WITH ISOLATED MVFR CONDITIONS TO AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. THE BEST CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND LOWER CEILINGS/VISIBILITY WILL BE NORTH OF A KGCN-KRQE LINE THROUGH 18Z...SPREADING SOUTHWARD TO THE MOGOLLON RIM AFTER 18Z. WINDS WILL BECOME NORTH TO NORTHWEST AT 10-20 KT THIS AFTERNOON...SHIFTING TO THE NORTHEAST TONIGHT. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && PUBLIC............DL AVIATION..........MCCOLLUM FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Six inches of snow fell in Lukachukai at an elevation of about 6400 feet above mean sea level. Delivery trucks had to turn around because of the snow before they could reach town. Three inches of snow fell in Dennehotso at an elevation of 5000 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, February 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: 367367.