A fast moving and cold storm system brought snow to portions of northern Arizona.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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 and cold storm system brought snow to portions of northern Arizona.
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 14, 3:55 AM MST, 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 355 AM MST MON DEC 14 2015 .SYNOPSIS...A COLD AND FAST MOVING WINTER STORM WILL BRING AREAS OF SNOW AND LOWER ELEVATION RAIN TO MUCH OF THE REGION TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT. CLEARING TONIGHT WILL USHER IN THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES OF THE SEASON. COLD...BUT DRY WEATHER...WILL LAST THROUGH WEDNESDAY BEFORE A WARMING TREND DEVELOPS HEADING INTO NEXT WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION...AN INTENSE AND DEEPENING LOW OVER SOUTHERN NEVADA WILL DRIVE A COLD FRONT THROUGH NORTHERN/CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS MORNING. FOLLOWING THE FRONT WILL BE AN IMPRESSIVE 500MB COLD POOL THAT WILL INDUCE CONVECTIVE SHOWERS BY EARLY AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING. RADAR SHOWING PRECIPITATION OUT AHEAD OF THE FRONT...AS FAR EAST AS FLAGSTAFF THIS MORNING. THE MOST INTENSE PRECIPITATION IS FARTHER WEST WITH THE FRONT. MESOSCALE MODELS ARE INDICATING SOME INTENSE SNOW BANDS ALONG THE RIM AFTER SUNRISE TODAY...ALTHOUGH THE SPEED OF THE FRONT WILL PARTIALLY LIMIT SNOWFALL TOTALS. THE FRONT MAKES IT TO THE NEW MEXICO BORDER BY EARLY AFTERNOON AND WEAKENS A BIT AS IT DOES. THIS SHOULD LIMIT THE SNOWFALL OVER THE WHITE MOUNTAINS AND POINTS NORTHEAST...WE HAVE DECIDED NOT TO ADD THE WHITE MOUNTAINS TO THE ADVISORY AT THIS TIME. CONVECTIVE SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP FROM WEST TO EAST BEHIND THE FRONT. THE -32C COLD POOL SHOULD MAKE FOR SOME FAIRLY IMPRESSIVE SNOW SQUALLS...LASTING INTO THE EARLY EVENING. VERY COLD CONDITIONS SETTLE INTO THE REGION AFTER THIS STORM...WITH THE COLDEST DAY AND NIGHT TEMPERATURES SO FAR THIS SEASON THROUGH WEDNESDAY. DRIER AND WARMER WEATHER DEVELOPS THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AS A HIGH BUILDS OVER THE AREA. LONG RANGE MODELS STILL INDICATE A DECENT CHANCE OF MORE RAIN AND SNOW EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 12Z PACKAGE...A COLD FRONT WILL BRING LOW CLOUDS WITH RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE AREA FROM WEST TO EAST TODAY. EXPECT WDSPRD MVFR TO IFR CONDITIONS. SOUTH-SOUTHWEST WINDS WITH GUSTS BETWEEN 20 TO 35 KNOTS OVER AND DOWNSTREAM OF HIGH TERRAIN. WINDS WILL TURN TO A MORE WESTERLY DIRECTION ONCE THE FRONT PASSES SHOWER ACTIVITY WILL SLOWLY DIMINISH FROM WEST TO EAST AFTER 00Z TUE. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ABOVE 4000 FEET UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS EVENING AZZ004-006>008-015-037-038. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ABOVE 4000 FEET FROM 8 AM UNTIL 8 PM MST AZZ010-011-016-018-039-040. && PUBLIC...PETERSON AVIATION...MAS FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 229 PM MST SUN DEC 13 2015 AZZ004>018-037>040-140600- 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- 229 PM MST SUN DEC 13 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO... NORTHERN GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AFTER A MOSTLY SUNNY AND WARMER DAY TODAY...A COLD PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL ARRIVE IN ARIZONA LATER TONIGHT AND INTO MONDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A COLD PACIFIC STORM WILL BRING BLUSTERY CONDITIONS TO THE REGION ON MONDAY. AREAS OF RAIN AND SNOW WILL SPREAD FROM WEST TO EAST FROM EARLY MONDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY EVENING. LIGHT TO MODERATE ACCUMULATIONS ARE LIKELY ABOVE 3500 FEET...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR MONDAY. PLEASE SEE NWS TEXT PRODUCT PHXWSWFGZ FOR DETAILS. .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 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Munds Park received 9.3 inches of new snow at about 6600 feet above sea level.
Two inches of snow fell 3 miles southwest of Cottonwood at an elevation of around 4000 feet.
Four inches of snow fell in Payson at an elevation of around 4800 feet. Six inches of snow fell about one mile northwest of Kohls Ranch at an elevation of around 5800 feet.
Eight inches of snow fell in Forest Lakes, Happy Jack, and Clints Well at elevations between 7200 and 7600 feet.
Six inches of snow fell in Show Low at an elevation of around 6800 feet.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, December 2015
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: 605780, 605794, 605764, 605795, 605775.