A strong cold front moved across northern Arizona with high winds.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 strong cold front moved across northern Arizona with high winds.
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 Nov 25, 4:15 AM MST, 3 hours 39 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 415 AM MST WED NOV 25 2015 .SYNOPSIS...A COLD FRONT STEMMING FROM A DEEP LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER NEVADA WILL PRODUCE GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE FORECAST TODAY AS THE COLD FRONT PUSHES EAST ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA. IN ADDITION...THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW PELLET SHOWERS LATER TODAY AND THIS EVENING...ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT. EXPECT COOL AND BREEZY WEATHER TO PERSIST FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY. && .DISCUSSION...A DEEP UPPER LOW SETTLING INTO THE GREAT BASIN WILL BRING WINDY AND COOLER CONDITIONS TO THE AREA TODAY. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED THIS MORNING THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON. A FEW AREAS JUST EAST OF FLAGSTAFF AND LEE OF THE MOGOLLON RIM SOUTH OF I-40 MAY SEE GUSTS TO 60 MPH TODAY...BUT THIS WILL BE ISOLATED AND THE WIND ADVISORY WILL SUFFICE. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST LATER TODAY AND WILL PUSH TOWARD THE NEW MEXICO BORDER BY TONIGHT. FORCING ALONG THE FRONT WILL BE QUITE STRONG...BUT MOISTURE WILL BE HARD TO COME BY. SOME MARINE LAYER MOISTURE CAN BE SEEN BREACHING THE COASTAL RANGES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA...THIS SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO WRING OUT A FEW SHOWERS OVER HIGHER TERRAIN BY THIS EVENING...BUT NOTHING OF ANY SIGNIFICANCE. SATURATION WILL BE SHALLOW...SO ANY PRECIPITATION THAT DOES REACH THE GROUND WILL BE RAIN OR GRAUPEL/SNOW PELLET SHOWERS. THE UPPER LOW WILL SPIN OVER THE SOUTHWEST THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH A FEW S/WVS EJECTING THROUGH NORTHERN ARIZONA FROM TIME TO TIME. IN ADDITION...A PLUME OF DEEPER MOISTURE EAST OF THE LOW (OVER NEW MEXICO) MAY BRUSH THE WHITE MTNS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. ANY OF THESE WAVES COULD LEAD TO ISOLATED SHOWERS...ESPECIALLY NORTH OF FLAGSTAFF. MUCH OF THIS PATTERN WILL BE DRY...COLD AND BREEZY. RIDGING ARRIVES NEXT WEEK FOR A WARMING TREND AND LESS WIND. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 12Z PACKAGE...A COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE REGION TODAY...BRINGING STRONG S-SW WINDS TO MUCH OF NORTHERN ARIZONA. WINDS ARE ALREADY ELEVATED THIS MORNING ALONG AND DOWNSTREAM OF HIGHER TERRAIN. IN THESE AREAS...EXPECT WIND GUSTS IN THE 15 TO 25 KT RANGE...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER SPEEDS POSSIBLE. AFT 16Z WEDNESDAY...WINDS WILL INCREASE IN SPEED AND COVERAGE...WITH GUSTS IN THE 30 TO 45 KT RANGE ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION. BY 22Z- 23Z...LOCALIZED MVFR CEILINGS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS. WINDS WILL DECREASE AFTER 03Z THURSDAY. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FROM 8 AM TO 8 PM MST TODAY FOR AZ PUBLIC ZONES 007-009>017-039-040. && PUBLIC...PETERSON AVIATION...RR FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 640 AM MST WED NOV 25 2015 AZZ004>018-037>040-260545- 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- 640 AM MST WED NOV 25 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO... NORTHERN GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT WINDY CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA TODAY...BUT ESPECIALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED...SEE PHXNPWFLG FOR DETAILS. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW PELLET SHOWERS WILL ALSO FORM BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON...ASSOCIATED WITH A COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE STATE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A STRONG AND COLD LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL SETTLE OVER THE WESTERN UNITED STATES THROUGH AT LEAST SUNDAY. EXPECT UNSETTLED WEATHER WITH BREEZY AFTERNOONS AND COOL DAYTIME TEMPERATURES. .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.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
An observer reported a peak wind gust of 62 MPH 9 miles NNE of Iron Springs.
The ADOT wind sensor at Two Guns reported wind gust of over 58 MPH between 11 AM and 130 PM. The peak wind gust there was 65 MPH at 1224 PM. The Winslow Airport ASOS (just 5 miles east of the county line) measured wind gust of 58 MPH or higher between 1215 PM and 230 PM MST. The peaks gust of 59 MPH was recorded at 156 PM MST. Blowing dust reduced the visibility to 3 miles at times.
The Winslow Airport ASOS measured wind gust of 58 MPH or higher between 1215 PM and 230 PM MST. The peaks gust of 59 MPH was recorded at 156 PM MST. Blowing dust reduced the visibility to 3 miles at times.
The Limestone Canyon RAWS reported a peak wind gust of 58 MPH at 1224 PM MST.
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, November 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: 605652, 605647, 605646, 605650.