A high amplitude ridge over the West Coast and a strong trough over the eastern United States created a very strong gradient over northern Arizona. The winds were channeled through a mountain pass and created very strong winds on Agassiz Peak just north of Flagstaff at 11,500 feet.
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The episode as NWS FGZ wrote it up.
A high amplitude ridge over the West Coast and a strong trough over the eastern United States created a very strong gradient over northern Arizona. The winds were channeled through a mountain pass and created very strong winds on Agassiz Peak just north of Flagstaff at 11,500 feet.
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 Apr 29, 7:05 PM MST, 3 hours 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 705 PM MST TUE APR 29 2014 .SYNOPSIS...EXPECT GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS AND MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES THROUGH THURSDAY...WITH COOL TEMPERATURES ALONG AND NORTHEAST OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. TEMPERATURES WILL WARM UP FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH WINDS BECOMING SOUTHWESTERLY AND DRY CONDITIONS CONTINUING. && .DISCUSSION... UPDATED FIRE WX AND PUBLIC TEXTS TO ADD WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT FOR SOME ZONES ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. EXPECTING NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS 20-35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH. THE UPPER AIR PATTERN SHOWING FAST NORTH NORTHEASTERLY FLOW AND VERY TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM ARE CLASSIC SIGNALS FOR AN OVERNIGHT THROUGH MID MORNING DOWNSLOPE WIND EVENT. CROSS SECTIONS SHOW INCREASING WIND SPEEDS IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER TONIGHT...INTO THE 45 KT RANGE AND I AM NOT FEELING COMFORTABLE WITH THE IDEA THIS WILL BE A LOCALIZED EVENT. OTHERWISE FROM THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...230 PM. STRONG NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS A HIGH AMPLITUDE RIDGE OVER THE WEST COAST AND LARGE SCALE TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN U.S. MAINTAIN THEIR POSITIONS. THE STRONG NORTHEASTERLY SURFACE WINDS THAT AFFECTED MANY LOCATIONS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM HAVE DIMINISHED SOMEWHAT...BUT WILL BE ENHANCED AGAIN LATE TONIGHT AS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE EMBEDDED IN THE NORTHERLY FLOW MOVES THROUGH NORTHEASTERN AZ. YET ANOTHER SHORTWAVE LOOKS TO BE ON TRACK FOR THURSDAY MORNING BRINGING CONTINUED BRISK NORTHEAST WINDS. FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND...THE WEST COAST RIDGE WILL MOVE EASTWARD OVER ARIZONA. WINDS TO TRANSITION TO SW AND BRING A STRONG WARMING TREND. ONCE THE RIDGE AXIS CROSSES AZ SUNDAY OR MONDAY...TROUGHING WILL DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTHWEST BRINGING BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS AND A GRADUAL COOLING TREND EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 06Z PACKAGE...EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS UNDER CLEAR SKIES FOR THE NEXT 24 HRS. EXPECT STRONG NORTHEAST DOWNSLOPE WINDS 20-30KT GUSTS TO 40 KT ALONG AND SOUTHWEST OF HIGHER TERRAIN FEATURES LIKE THE MOGOLLON RIM. THESE WINDS IMPACTING THE KSEZ...KPAN...KFLG...KPRC TERMINALS THROUGH 16Z WEDS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER... UPDATE TO INCREASE WIND SPEEDS/GUSTS TONIGHT THROUGH MID MORNING WEDNESDAY. STRONG NORTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT THROUGH MID MORNING WEDNESDAY ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING IN ALONG THE WEST COAST WILL PRODUCE DRY CONDITIONS ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA THROUGH SATURDAY.WINDS AND HUMIDITY VALUES WILL APPROACH CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER THRESHOLDS ALONG AND SOUTHWEST OF THE MOGOLLON RIM WEDNESDAY...PRIMARILY BETWEEN SUNRISE AND NOON. FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...EXPECT CONTINUED DRY AND WARM CONDITIONS...THOUGH WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHTER AND SOUTHWESTERLY AS WE HEAD INTO THE WEEKEND. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ..WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 AM MST WEDNESDAY FOR AZ ZONES 008-015-016-018-038 && PUBLIC.........DL/ DJO AVIATION.......DL FIRE WEATHER...DL FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 612 PM MST TUE APR 29 2014 AZZ008-015-016-018-038-300900- YAVAPAI COUNTY MOUNTAINS-WESTERN MOGOLLON RIM- EASTERN MOGOLLON RIM-NORTHERN GILA COUNTY- OAK CREEK AND SYCAMORE CANYONS- 612 PM MST TUE APR 29 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA...NORTH CENTRAL ARIZONA AND WEST CENTRAL ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 AM MST WEDNESDAY FOR THE YAVAPAI COUNTY MOUNTAINS...NORTHERN GILA COUNTY...EASTERN AND WESTERN MOGOLLON RIM. EXPECT NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH. SEE PHXNPWFGZ FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS TO CONTINUE FROM WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. .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 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Very strong northeast winds hit Agassiz Peak just north of Flagstaff. A weather station at 11,500 feet recorded wind gusts in excess of 58 MPH for almost 12 hours. The highest wind gust recorded was 80 MPH.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, April 2014
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: 515449.