A fast moving storm dumped heavy snow on the 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 fast moving storm dumped heavy snow on the 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 7, 10:45 AM MST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 1045 AM MST SAT DEC 7 2013 .SYNOPSIS...A VERY COLD AIR MASS WILL REMAIN ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH TEMPERATURES REMAINING WELL BELOW AVERAGE. ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SNOW TO THE AREA THIS WEEKEND. SNOW IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ACROSS NORTHWESTERN ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON AND SPREAD EASTWARD TONIGHT...ENDING ON SUNDAY. && .DISCUSSION...LOW CLOUDS ARE QUICKLY OVERSPREADING NRN AZ THIS MORNING AS SOME LOW LEVEL PACIFIC MOISTURE MOVES EASTWARD. THE MAIN CLOUD BAND ASSOCIATED WITH THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED OVER SW UTAH...SRN NV...AND INTO SRN CALIF THIS MORNING. MODELS...INCLUDING THE GFS...ECMWF...NAM...AND SREF...ALL CONTINUE TO TREND DRIER WITH THIS SYSTEM. GIVEN THIS TREND...WILL NEED TO CONSIDER LOWERING SNOWFALL AMOUNTS AND REMOVING WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES FROM SOME LOCATIONS WITH THE ISSUANCE OF THE AFTERNOON FCST PACKAGE. && .PREV DISCUSSION (4 AM)...A COLD LONG-WAVE TROUGH REMAINS OVER THE WEST WITH A SHORTWAVE TROUGH RAPIDLY MOVING ESE INTO THE GREAT BASIN AT THIS TIME. THIS SHORTWAVE FEATURE IS STILL ON TRACK TO MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING...BUT LATEST INDICATIONS ARE IT WILL BE SLIGHTLY LESS AMPLIFIED AND STAY A BIT FARTHER TO THE NORTH. STILL SHOULD HAVE GOOD UPSLOPE WINDS AND SUFFICIENTLY COLD TEMPERATURES IN THE CLOUD LAYER FOR EFFICIENT ICE CRYSTAL GROWTH...HOWEVER THE BEST AND DEEPEST MOISTURE WILL REMAIN FROM NEAR THE AZ/UT BORDER NORTHWARD. HAVE THEREFORE TRIMMED SNOWFALL AMOUNTS SLIGHTLY FOR THE MOGOLLON RIM AREA WITH THE LATEST FORECAST PACKAGE. SNOW LEVELS LOOK TO DROP RAPIDLY TO MOST VALLEY FLOOR LOCATIONS EXCEPT FOR THE LOWEST ELEVATIONS OF SOUTHERN YAVAPAI COUNTY. ALSO LOOK FOR WINDY CONDITIONS TODAY AND THIS EVENING...WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH IN HIGH ELEVATION AREAS FROM THE MOGOLLON RIM NORTHWARD AS WELL AS THE LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF THE HIGHER ELEVATION ZONES OF NORTHERN ARIZONA...AND HAVE ADDED THE BLACK MESA AND CHUSKA MOUNTAIN ZONES IN NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA. SEE PRODUCT WSWFGZ FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. THE LATEST MODEL RUNS HAVE TRENDED TOWARD A STRONGER TRAILING SHORTWAVE TROUGH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT/MONDAY...ALTHOUGH AT THIS POINT MOST DO NOT FEATURE ANY PRECIPITATION. CANT RULE OUT SOME MORE SNOW SHOWERS WITH THIS FEATURE...SO HAVE ADDED SLIGHT CHANCES IN THE FORECAST. RIDGING OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC MIDWEEK WILL PRODUCE NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AND BREEZY NORTHEAST SURFACE WINDS. THE RIDGE FLATTENS BY THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK ALLOWING A MODERATING WESTERLY FLOW TO MOVE ACROSS THE DESERT SOUTHWEST. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 18Z PACKAGE...EXPECT MVFR CONDITIONS AT MOUNTAIN SITES ALONG AND NW OF A LINE FROM KFMN-KSEZ-KPRC THROUGH 20Z...WITH INCREASING LOW CLOUDS. SCT MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS IN -SHSN WILL DEVELOP FROM KKNB TO KGCN AFT 20Z-22Z. THIS AREA WILL SPREAD SOUTH AND EAST AND INCREASE IN COVERAGE THROUGH 23Z-01Z. BY 01Z-03Z...MOST SITES WILL SEE MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS IN -SHSN/SHSN WITH AREAS OF LIFR AND ISOLD VLIFR OVER THE MOGOLLON RIM AND TOWARD THE HIGHER TERRAIN NEAR KRQE. SFC WNDS WILL INCREASE TO 15-25KTS WITH GUSTS TO 35KTS MOST AREAS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH 02Z-04Z SUNDAY CAUSING BLSN. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 2 PM TODAY TO 5 AM MST SUNDAY FOR AZZ004-006. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 5 PM TODAY TO 11 AM MST SUNDAY FOR AZZ007-008-015-038. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM TODAY UNTIL 2 PM MST SUNDAY FOR AZZ011-039. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 8 PM TODAY TO 2 PM MST SUNDAY FOR AZZ016>018. && PUBLIC.........DB/ONTON AVIATION.......TC FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 452 AM MST SAT DEC 7 2013 AZZ004>018-037>040-081400- 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- 452 AM MST SAT DEC 7 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO... NORTHERN GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA TODAY AND TONIGHT WHILE A VERY COLD AIR MASS REMAINS OVER THE REGION. THIS AFTERNOON...SOUTHWEST WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH WILL DEVELOP OVER MUCH OF THE REGION FROM THE MOGOLLON RIM NORTHWARD. MEANWHILE...ACCUMULATING SNOW SHOWERS WILL BEGIN IN NORTHWEST ARIZONA AND SPREAD EASTWARD TO THE WHITE MOUNTAINS THE REST OF THE DAY. VERY COLD TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE ICY AND SNOW PACKED ROAD CONDITIONS. THE STRONG WINDS WILL CAUSE AREAS OF LOW VISIBILITIES AS WELL AS BELOW ZERO WIND CHILLS TONIGHT. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL TO VALLEY FLOORS IN MOST LOCATIONS WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF FAR SOUTHWESTERN YAVAPAI COUNTY BY SUNDAY MORNING. EXPECT STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 3 INCHES BELOW 5000 FEET...2 TO 5 INCHES ABOVE 5000 FEET...AND 3 TO 7 INCHES ABOVE 6000 FEET...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ON THE HIGHER PEAKS. SEE THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY (PRODUCT PHXWSWFGZ) FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY VERY COLD TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY...WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE 20S AND 30S ACROSS MOST OF NORTHERN ARIZONA. .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.
Ten to 12 inches of snow fell in and around Jacob Lake.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, December 2013
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: 482569.