A winter storm moved through the desert southwest that spanned from New Years eve into New Years day 2015. This storm resulted in briefly unusually low snow levels down to about 2000 to 2500 feet with significant snow above 3000 feet.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 TWC wrote it up.
A winter storm moved through the desert southwest that spanned from New Years eve into New Years day 2015. This storm resulted in briefly unusually low snow levels down to about 2000 to 2500 feet with significant snow above 3000 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 Tucson, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 31, 2:23 PM MST, 2 hours 37 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TUCSON AZ
223 PM MST WED DEC 31 2014
.SYNOPSIS...GUSTY WINDS HAVE DEVELOPED TODAY AHEAD OF A STRONG
WINTER STORM. RAIN AND SNOW WILL SPREAD IN FROM THE WEST THROUGH
THURSDAY MORNING. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL TO NEAR VALLEY FLOORS IN
SOME LOCATIONS TONIGHT. ELEVATIONS ABOVE 4000 FEET CAN EXPECT
ACCUMULATING SNOW BY THURSDAY MORNING WITH SIGNIFICANT SNOW IN THE
MOUNTAINS. EXPECT PARTIAL CLEARING THURSDAY BEFORE A SECONDARY
DISTURBANCE RESULTS IN A FEW SNOW SHOWERS THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY
MORNING. ANOTHER HARD FREEZE APPEARS INCREASINGLY LIKELY FOR THE
TUCSON METRO AREA THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY NIGHT. COLD AND DRY TO
START THE WEEKEND WITH A WARMING TREND BY EARLY NEXT WEEK.
&&
.DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS THE UPPER LOW SPINNING OVER
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND WESTERN ARIZONA AT THIS TIME. IR IMAGERY
SHOWS EXTENSIVE CLOUDINESS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM COVERING MUCH
OF THE SOUTHWESTERN STATES...AS WELL AS NORTHERN MEXICO. CLOUDS HAVE
BEEN THICKENING AND LOWERING DURING THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS AND
WILL CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE THROUGHOUT THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT.
RADAR MOSAIC FROM AROUND THE REGION IS SHOWING A BAND OF SHOWERS
THAT EXTENDS FROM THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE PHOENIX METRO AND INTO
CENTRAL PINAL COUNTY AND JUST TO THE WEST OF THE TUCSON METRO AREA.
THESE SHOWERS THEN EXTEND TO SOUTHWEST OF GREEN VALLEY. ALL OF THIS
ACTIVITY WILL MOVE EAST THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON AND
INTO THE EVENING HOURS...WITH ACTIVITY GRADUALLY TAPERING OFF DURING
THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AND EARLY IN THE DAY ON THURSDAY FROM WEST TO
EAST.
THE LATEST SATELLITE DERIVED BLENDED TOTAL PRECIPITABLE WATER
IMAGERY SHOWS PW VALUES OF AROUND 0.50 - 0.60 INCHES JUST SOUTH OF
THE BORDER AT THIS TIME. LATEST OBSERVATIONS SHOW THE WINDS HAVE
KICKED UP ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA...WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OF
20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS OF AROUND 30 TO 40+ MPH. AS THESE WINDS
CONTINUE... FROM THE SURFACE AND ALOFT...THE MOISTURE TO OUR SOUTH
WILL BE CONTINUE TO BE TRANSPORTED NORTHWARD WITH SATURATION
OCCURRING LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING.
SNOW LEVELS ACROSS MY FORECAST AREA WILL CONTINUE TO FALL AS THE
CENTER OF THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM PASSES BY TO OUR NORTH THROUGH
EARLY THURSDAY...WITH SNOW LEVELS FALLING TO AROUND 3500 FEET BY
LATE THIS EVENING AND AROUND 3000 FEET BY EARLY THURSDAY MORNING.
INHERITED WINTER WEATHER WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES CONTINUE TO LOOK
GOOD...SO NO CHANGES PLANNED AT THIS TIME.
THE NEXT AREA OF CONCERN WILL BE SUB-FREEZING LOW TEMPS FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY MORNINGS...WHEN LOW TEMPS ARE EXPECTED TO BE IN THE MID 20S
TO NEAR 30 FOR MUCH OF THE TUCSON METRO AND INTO CENTRAL PIMA COUNTY
AND SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY. AFTER INSPECTION OF 12Z MOS LOW TEMP
NUMBERS FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS...DECIDED TO GO WITH A HARD
FREEZE WATCH FOR SOUTHEAST PINAL COUNTY...CENTRAL AND EASTERN
PORTIONS OF PIMA COUNTY FRIDAY MORNING...THEN JUST FOR EASTERN
PORTIONS OF PIMA COUNTY AND EASTERN PINAL COUNTY FOR SATURDAY
MORNING SINCE THE LOWS WILL BE SLIGHTLY WARMER SATURDAY MORNING
COMPARED TO FRIDAY...AND AREAL COVERAGE OF TEMPS AT OR BELOW 27
DEGS F WILL BE SMALLER.
AS THE LOW BEGINS TO EJECT TO THE EAST LATE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...
LINGERING MOISTURE AND COLD AIR WILL JUSTIFY KEEPING A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF GRAHAM AND GREENLEE COUNTIES
AND FOR THE SANTA CATALINA AND RINCON MOUNTAINS OF EASTERN PIMA
COUNTY THROUGH LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON. THE LOW WILL BE FAR ENOUGH
TO OUR EAST BY LATE FRIDAY/EARLY SATURDAY TO RESULT IN A RETURN TO
DRY CONDITIONS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PERIOD WITH A
WARMING TREND BEGINNING EARLY NEXT WEEK.
&&
.AVIATION...VALID THRU 01/12Z.
MVFR WITH POSSIBLE IFR CONDITIONS DEVELOPING DUE TO LOWERING
CEILINGS AND SHOWERS...FIRST AT KTUS/KOLS TERMINALS AND THEN AT KDUG
AROUND 01/01Z. THE HIGHER TERRAIN WILL SEE SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN
VISIBILITY DUE TO RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS. SOME PARTIAL CLEARING IS
THEN EXPECTED FROM WEST TO EAST TOMORROW MORNING.
WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL GENERALLY BE OUT OF THE
SOUTHWEST AT 15 TO 25 KTS WITH GUSTS NEAR 35 KTS WITH THE
HIGHEST WIND SPEEDS IN AND AROUND THE KOLS/KDUG TERMINALS. WINDS
WILL THEN SHIFT TO A MORE WESTERLY DIRECTION BEHIND THE COLD FRONT.
WIND SPEEDS WILL REMAIN ELEVATED OVERNIGHT AT KDUG WHILE RELAXING TO
10 TO 15 KTS AT KTUS/KOLS AFTER 01/07Z. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT
UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...A WINTER STORM WILL SPREAD SHOWERS ACROSS THE AREA
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH BREEZY CONDITIONS THROUGH AT LEAST
THIS EVENING. SNOW LEVELS AT THE START OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE
NEAR 6000 FT THEN DROP TO 3-4000 FT BY THURSDAY MORNING AS THE
PRECIPITATION IS TAPERING OFF. THURSDAY THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY WILL
BE MUCH COLDER THAN NORMAL WITH A FEW SCATTERED SHOWERS AROUND...IN
THE FORM OF SNOW ABOVE ABOUT 3000 FT. THEREAFTER...THE WEEKEND WILL
BE DRY AND COLDER THAN NORMAL BUT WITH TEMPERATURES SLOWLY
MODERATING THROUGH MONDAY.
&&
.TWC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 11 AM MST THURSDAY FOR AZZ510-511-514.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 5 PM TODAY TO 11 AM MST THURSDAY
FOR AZZ506-509 ABOVE 4000 FEET.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 5 PM TODAY TO 11 AM MST THURSDAY
FOR AZZ512-513.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM LATE THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH
THURSDAY AFTERNOON FOR AZZ510-511-514.
HARD FREEZE WATCH FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY
MORNING FOR AZZ502-504>506.
HARD FREEZE WATCH FROM LATE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY
MORNING FOR AZZ504-506.
&&
VISIT US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER...YOUTUBE...AND AT WEATHER.GOV/TUCSON
PUBLIC...MOLLERE
AVIATION/FIRE WEATHER...CARLAW/CANTINThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Five inches of snow occurred in Oracle at an elevation of about 4200 feet.
Heavy snow fell in the Santa Catalina Mountains New Year's Eve. By the time snow ended early on January 1st, 2015, just over a foot of snow accumulated on Mt. Lemmon above 8000 feet.
Snow fell in the Upper Gila River Valley December 31st, 2014. By the time snow ended early on New Year's Day, three inches had accumulated at Thatcher, AZ at an elevation of about 3000 feet.
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, December 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: 550728, 550731, 550729.