A cold front moved from north to south across northern Arizona and stalled for over a day. This brought areas of heavy snow and lower elevation rain to northern portions of the state.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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 cold front moved from north to south across northern Arizona and stalled for over a day. This brought areas of heavy snow and lower elevation rain to northern portions of the state.
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 Feb 22, 4:25 AM MST, 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 425 AM MST SUN FEB 22 2015 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT WILL STALL JUST SOUTH OF THE UTAH BORDER TODAY. THIS FRONT WILL BRING COLDER TEMPERATURES WITH RAIN AND HIGH ELEVATION SNOW TO NORTHERN ARIZONA SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED NORTH AND WEST OF A LINE FROM PAYSON TO WINDOW ROCK. DRY WEATHER RETURNS FROM TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. A STRONGER PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM MAY IMPACT THE AREA ON SATURDAY. && PROGS REMAIN IN VERY GOOD AGREEMENT FROM TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY. FOR TODAY...THE COLD FRONT HAS MOVED SOUTHWARD INTO NRN AZ AND WAS ROUGHLY ALONG A LINE FROM THE FOUR CORNERS THROUGH THE SOUTH RIM OF GCNP. RADAR AND SFC OBS INDICATE LIGHT SNOWFALL HAD DEVELOPED ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE KAIBAB PLATEAU. THE COLD COLD FRONT SHOULD MOVE VERY LITTLE TODAY. EXPECT ANOTHER WINDY AFTERNOON ACROSS THE LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY WITH SW GUSTS IN THE 30-40 MPH RANGE IN DOWNSLOPE FLOW. WINDS ALOFT WILL BACK TO THE SOUTHWEST TODAY AS THE UPPER LEVEL LOW CENTER MOVES INTO CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. FEW CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE PRECIP PART OF THE FORECAST. PROGS SHOW MOISTURE TO INCREASE ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA TODAY..WITH DEEP SATURATION (NOW TO -32C) ALONG AND NORTH OF THE FRONT. RAIN AND HIGH ELEVATION SNOW SHOWERS WILL EXPAND ACROSS COCONINO AND FAR NORTHERN YAVAPAI COUNTY THIS AFTERNOON. A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW WAS EXPANDED AND NOW INCLUDES THE NORTHEAST PLATEAUS AND MESA NORTH OF HIGHWAY 264 AS WELL AS THE KAIBAB PLATEAU AND BLACK MESA AREAS. TONIGHT...PRECIPITATION SHOULD EXPAND INTO ALL OF YAVAPAI COUNTY AND THE NORTHERN HALVES OF NAVAJO AND APACHE COUNTIES. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS EXISTS ALONG THE MOGOLLON RIM EAST OF HAPPY JACK. BY SUNRISE MONDAY...SNOW LEVELS TO RANGE FROM 3700 FEET AROUND PAGE TO 7000 IN FLAGSTAFF AND 8000 FEET IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. THE BULK OF PRECIP ACCUMULATION WITH THIS EVENT LOOKS TO BE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO ISSUE SNOW ADVISORIES FOR THE PAGE AND BE FLAGSTAFF AREA WITH THIS MORNINGS FORECAST. LATER SHIFTS MAY DO SO...STAY TUNED. THE COLD FRONT AND UPPER LOW WILL BEGIN MOVING EASTWARD ACROSS OUR AREA MONDAY NIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED BUT LIQUID ACCUMULATIONS SHOULD BE MUCH LESS THAN MONDAY. PROGS ARE SHOWING CLEARING ACROSS YAVAPAI COUNTY EARLY TUESDAY MORNING AND SPREADING EASTWARD THROUGH THE DAY. EXPECT SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS A CHANCE OF SHOWERS WILL LINGER IN THE WHITE MTNS TUESDAY EVENING. WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...DRY NORTH THEN WEST NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT IS EXPECTED. MAX AND MIN TEMPS TO BE NEAR SEASONAL NORMALS. FOR SATURDAY...THE GFS AND ECMWF BRING A COLD PACIFIC STORM INTO THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN SATURDAY. THE GFS IS SHOWING VERY HEAVY LIQUID ACCUMULATIONS AND IS SLIGHTLY WARMER THAN THE ECMWF. DEFINITELY STAY TUNED ON THIS SECOND SYSTEM. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 12Z PACKAGE...ROUGHLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM KGCN TO KCEZ...EXPECT WDSPRD MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS IN RAIN AND SNOW THROUGH THE PERIOD. SCT-BKN CLOUDS WITH BASES FROM 8-12KFT AGL WILL EXIST SOUTH OF THIS LINE...WITH SCT -SHRA/-SHSN DEVELOPING ALONG THE RIM AFT 18Z. THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL SLOWLY MOVE SOUTH LATER TODAY...WITH MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS ARRIVING KFLG AROUND 02Z-04Z MONDAY. MOST AREAS FROM KPAN NORTH AND WEST WILL SEE WDSPRD MVFR/IFR AFT 06Z-08Z MONDAY. SFC WINDS SW 15-25KTS TODAY. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 5 AM SUNDAY TO 5 PM MST MONDAY FOR AZZ004-009-039. && PUBLIC.........DL AVIATION.......PETERSON FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 400 AM MST SUN FEB 22 2015 AZZ004>018-037>040-230700- 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- 400 AM MST SUN FEB 22 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO... NORTHERN GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY A COLD FRONT HAS MOVED INTO FAR NORTHERN ARIZONA THIS MORNING WITH SNOWFALL DEVELOPING ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE KAIBAB PLATEAU. A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW IS IN EFFECT FOR THE KAIBAB PLATEAU...BLACK MESA...AND NORTHEAST PLATEAU AND MESAS ZONES FROM TODAY THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON. SEE PHXWSWFGZ FOR DETAILS. RAIN AND SNOW CHANCES WILL INCREASE ACROSS FAR NORTHERN ARIZONA TODAY. SOUTHWEST WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED IN THE LITTLE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVELS TO FALL TO 4000 FEET IN PAGE AND TO 7000 FEET AT FLAGSTAFF TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... WIDESPREAD RAIN AND SNOW IS FORECAST ON MONDAY AS THE COLD FRONT BEGINS TO MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD. SNOW LEVELS TO RANGE FROM 4000 FEET IN THE PAGE AREA TO 7500 FEET IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS MONDAY AFTERNOON. PRECIPITATION TO DECREASE IN COVERAGE FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST STARTING EARLY TUESDAY MORNING...WITH FAIR BUT COOL WEATHER FOR MOST OF NORTHERN ARIZONA BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON. EXPECT DRY WEATHER FROM WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. A COLD AND MOIST STORM SYSTEM MAY IMPACT NORTHERN ARIZONA NEXT SATURDAY. .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.
8 heavy snow, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Jacob Lake received a foot of snow by 500 AM February 23rd. It ended up snowing a total of two feet by the time the storm ended. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon had 16 inches of snow. Fredonia (4800 feet) received 5.0 inches of snow.
Between 3 and 4 inches of snow fell in Page at an elevation of around 4,200 feet. Snow covered the dock on Lake Powell--a rare event.
Ten inches of snow fell 6 miles northeast of Cow Springs.
Ten inches of snow fell 6 miles northeast of Cow Springs. 16-17 inches of snow fell along Highway 160 near Shonto (Milepost 370).
Fourteen to 16 inches of snow fell in Monument Valley. Seven inches fell in Kayenta.
Tuba City Police reported 2-3 inches of snow at an elevation of 4,900 feet.
Tuba City Police reported 2-3 inches of snow at an elevation of 4,900 feet.
Some of the storm total snow amounts (in inches) include: Snowbowl (10,800') 26.0, Bellemont 10.7, Flagstaff Airport 6.9, Williams 3.0, and Doney Park 2.0. Flagstaff Police Department reported only six accidents in the City limits. However, The Arizona Department of Public Safety responded to 24 collisions and 40 slide-offs in the Flagstaff area. Six of collisions resulted in injuries. One accident injured two people who were taken to the hospital, where they were treated, and released.
Heavy rain fell across Yavapai County. The Prescott airport ASOS reported 1.36 inches of rain. The Sedona ASOS reported 1.70 inches of rain. Some other rainfall totals include: Prescott Valley 0.80, Cherry 1.33 inches, Crown King 1.58 inches, and Dewey-Humbult 0.75 inches.
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, February 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: 564003, 564006, 564015, 564016, 564019, 564036, 564042, 564000, 564101.