A strong cold front moving across Arizona brought widespread strong winds and blowing dust.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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 strong cold front moving across Arizona brought widespread 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 May 26, 3:35 AM MST, 5 hours 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 335 AM MST SAT MAY 26 2012 .SYNOPSIS...A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION TODAY WITH WINDY CONDITIONS..AND BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AS A RESULT. A BREEZY AND COOL DAY WILL PERSIST SUNDAY...BEFORE WARMING AND CONTINUED DRY CONDITIONS RETURNS FOR MUCH OF NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION...A DEEP...LATE SEASON TROUGH OVER SOUTHERN NEVADA WILL PUSH A COLD FRONT THROUGH ARIZONA TODAY. THE FRONT IS ENTERING THE FAR WESTERN PORTIONS OF OUR CWA THIS MORNING...WITH SHALLOW SC/CU FORMING ALONG THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY. MOISTURE PROFILES ARE SEVERELY LIMITED...AND NO MORE THAN A BRIEF RAIN OR GRAUPEL SHOWER IS EXPECTED THIS MORNING. WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT ARE OVER 50-60KTS AT 700MB...BUT THESE GRADIENTS WILL COLLAPSE QUICKLY TODAY THE PARENT LOW FILLS AND EJECTS RAPIDLY NORTHEASTWARD. IN ADDITION...COLD AIR BEHIND THE FRONT WILL LIMIT MIXING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. WE EXPECT A WINDY DAY TODAY...BUT HIGH WIND CRITERIA DOES NOT LOOK VERY LIKELY. WE HAVE DOWNGRADED THE HIGH WIND WARNING AS A RESULT. COLD AIR AND HIGHER SFC DEWPOINTS THIS MORNING WILL ALSO LIMIT THE EXTENT OF THE RED FLAG WARNING...AND THE AREAL COVERAGE WILL BE PARED BACK. A COOL AND BREEZY DAY WILL PERSIST SUNDAY AS THE TROUGH REMAINS OVER THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. BY MONDAY AND THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK...HGHTS WILL REBUILD RAPIDLY...WITH WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS EXPECTED. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 12Z PACKAGE...EXPECT A FEW WIND GUSTS OF 35-40KTS THIS MORNING ALONG AND DOWNWIND OF THE KAIBAB PLATEAU AND MOGOLLON RIM. STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL BECOME WIDESPREAD AFT 16Z. EXPECT 20-30KTS GUSTS 35-45KTS FROM THE MOGOLLON RIM NORTHWARD WITH 15-25KTS GUSTS TO 30KTS SOUTH OF THE RIM. LCL MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS IN BLDU EXPECTED ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA. WINDS WILL DECREASE BY 01-03Z THIS EVENING. AN ISOLATED SHOWER IS POSSIBLE NORTH AND WEST OF A KPRC-KFLG-KPGA LINE THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...A STRONG TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS ARIZONA TODAY. STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF THIS FRONT AND WILL BE STRONGEST ALONG AND NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. LOW RH ACROSS NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA WILL COMBINE WITH THE STRONG WINDS TO PRODUCE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. HOWEVER...COOLER AIR FILTERING IN BEHIND THE FRONT WILL KEEP CENTRAL ARIZONA ABOVE CRITICAL RH THRESHOLDS AND THE RED FLAG WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELED FOR THIS AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN COOL ON SUNDAY WITH DRY CONDITIONS AND MUCH LIGHTER WINDS. MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...A PERIOD OF LIGHTER WINDS AND DRY CONDITIONS IS EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. TEMPERATURES WILL GRADUALLY WARM EACH DAY. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 8 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR AZ FWX ZONES 109>114-117-139-140. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR AZ PUBLIC ZONES 004>007-009>017-039-040. DUST STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR AZ PUBLIC ZONE 010. && PUBLIC.........PETERSON AVIATION.......MCS FIRE WEATHER...MCS FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 345 AM MST SAT MAY 26 2012 AZZ004>018-037>040-270700- 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- 345 AM MST SAT MAY 26 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO...NORTHERN GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY A COLD FRONT WILL BRING STRONG AND GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS...AS WELL AS AREAS OF BLOWING DUST...TO MUCH OF THE REGION TODAY. RED FLAG CONDITIONS WILL ALSO CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY...EAST OF FLAGSTAFF. A VARIETY OF WIND ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT...SEE PHXNPWFGZ FOR DETAILS. A DUST STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE CHINLE VALLEY. TEXT PRODUCT PHXRFWFGZ CONTAINS DETAILED INFORMATION FOR TODAYS RED FLAG WARNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY 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.
5 high wind, 4 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Significant blowing dust was reported in Kykotsmovi Village eastward along Highway 264. The visibility was down to below one mile.
Significant blowing dust was reported in Kykotsmovi Village eastward along Highway 264. The visibility was down to below one mile.
The visibility was down to a few miles in dust at the Petrified Forest National Park. A peak wind gust of 60 MPH was measured at 1131 AM.
The Petrified Forest National Park reported a peak wind gust of 60 MPH at 1131 AM MST.
A peak wind gust of 63 MPH was reported at the Mogollon Airpark in Heber-Overgaard.
The Sheriff Office in Kayenta reported blowing dust with the visibility down to 1/2 mile.
The Painted Desert National Park reported a peak wind gust of 58 MPH.
The ADOT wind sensor at Lupton recorded a peak wind gust of 65 MPH.
The Winslow ASOS reported a peak wind gust of 58 MPH.
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, May 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: 394044, 394045, 394046, 394047, 394048, 394049, 394050, 394051, 394053.