Cold in Arizona, February 3, 2016

Name: Cold in Arizona, February 3, 2016
Start: 2016-02-03T00:00
End: 2016-02-03T09:00
Location: Arizona

February 3, 2016 · NWS FGZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Clear skies, light winds, and fresh snow followed a strong winter storm system which allowed strong inversions and very cold temperatures to develop.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS FGZ wrote it up.

Clear skies, light winds, and fresh snow followed a strong winter storm system which allowed strong inversions and very cold temperatures to develop.

What forecasters said that day

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 2, 9:09 PM MST, 2 hours 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 2, 9:09 PM MST, 2 hours 51 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
909 PM MST TUE FEB 2 2016

.SYNOPSIS...EXPECT MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WITH COLD TEMPERATURES
THROUGH WEDNESDAY. A WEAK WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BRING A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF SHOWERS TO AREAS NORTH OF I-40 ON THURSDAY. DRY WEATHER
IS BACK FROM FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY WITH A WARMING TREND.

&&

.DISCUSSION...A COLD AIR MASS WILL BRING FREEZING CONDITIONS TO
NORTHERN ARIZONA THROUGH WEDNESDAY. MOSTLY DRY WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE FORECAST WITH A WARMING TREND FROM THURSDAY ONWARD. THE LATEST
FORECAST GRIDS LOOK GOOD. NO EVENING UPDATES.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION /302 PM MST/...VERY COLD NORTHWEST FLOW CONTINUES
THIS AFTERNOON IN THE WAKE OF MONDAY'S STORM SYSTEM. HIGH
TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN CLOSE TO 20 DEGREES COLDER THAN NORMAL. A
FEW SNOW SHOWERS/FLURRIES CONTINUE OVER EASTERN ARIZONA...EXPECT
THESE TO DIMINISH OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. LOW TEMPERATURES
TONIGHT ARE FORECAST TO BE VERY COLD...SUB-ZERO FOR SOME MOUNTAIN
AREAS.

WEDNESDAY WILL BE COLD ONCE AGAIN...THOUGH A FEW DEGREES HIGHER
THAN TODAY. THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...MODELS ARE INDICATING A
SHORTWAVE PASSING BY MAINLY TO OUR NORTH...BRINGING A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS THURSDAY NIGHT TO NORTHEAST ARIZONA. COLD
NORTHEAST FLOW WILL MOVE IN BEHIND THE SHORTWAVE...KEEPING HIGH
TEMPERATURES COLD FOR FRIDAY. SATURDAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT
WEEK...STRONG RIDGING IS LIKELY WITH TEMPERATURES WARMING TO ABOVE
NORMAL LEVELS.

&&

.AVIATION...EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. AVIATION
DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS.

&&

.FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

PUBLIC...BOHLIN/JJ
AVIATION...AT

FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT
WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Western Mogollon Rim

When: February 3, 12:00 AM MST to 9:00 AM MST
Where: Western Mogollon Rim forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Very cold temperatures developed over night across the Western Mogollon Rim. Here are some of the lows recorded in the area: Greenbase RAWS -24F, Bellemont -21 F, Mormon Lake -19, Flagstaff Airport -9F, Garland Prairie -8F, Sunset Crater National Monument -8F, and Northern Arizona University Campus (Downtown Flagstaff -2 F.

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill: Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arizona in 2016 Every state in 2016 This day in weather history Warnings in Arizona, February 2016

Sources

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: 620301.