A spring snow storm brought snow to northern Arizona above elevations of around 6000 feet. Areas between around 6000 and 7500 feet got advisory amounts of snow.
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.
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 spring snow storm brought snow to northern Arizona above elevations of around 6000 feet. Areas between around 6000 and 7500 feet got advisory amounts of snow.
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 Apr 30, 9:28 PM MST, 2 hours 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 928 PM MST SAT APR 30 2016 .SYNOPSIS...SHOWERS WITH AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY AS ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM MOVES SLOWLY THROUGH THE SOUTHWEST. A WEAK RIDGE ALOFT WILL BRING DRIER AND WARMER WEATHER TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. WINDY WEATHER WILL RETURN ON THURSDAY AHEAD OF ANOTHER PACIFIC LOW FORECAST TO BRING A SECOND ROUND OF WET AND COOL WEATHER STARTING FRIDAY INTO NEXT WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION...NUMEROUS SHOWERS DEVELOPED TODAY ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA WITH SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. SNOW LEVELS RANGED FROM 7000 TO 7500 FEET. FOR TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...SCATTERED SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TO ROLL ACROSS THE NORTHLAND IN AN UNSTABLE MOIST ENVIRONMENT. OVERNIGHT SNOW LEVELS WILL CONTINUE TO RANGE FROM 7000 TO 7500 FEET ELEVATION. ONLY LIGHT SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ARE ANTICIPATED BY SUNRISE ON SUNDAY MORNING OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATION AREAS. THESE SNOW LEVELS WILL RISE ABOVE 7500 TO 8000 FEET ELEVATION BY AFTERNOON WITH NUMEROUS SHOWERS ALONG WITH A FEW AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS. ON MONDAY SHOWERS REMAIN IN THE FORECAST WITH WET WEATHER DIMINISHING IN THE EVENING HOURS. TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...A WEAK RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL MOVE INTO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST WITH DRIER AND WARMER WEATHER CONDITIONS FORECAST. BY THURSDAY ANOTHER COLD LOW WILL APPROACH ARIZONA FROM THE WEST PRODUCING STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...COLD AND WET WEATHER RETURNS AS OUR LONG RANGE GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SHOW ANOTHER PACIFIC LOW MOVING ACROSS THE REGION. WE HAVE MODERATE CONFIDENCE IN ANOTHER ROUND OF EXTENDED SHOWER ACTIVITY LASTING INTO NEXT WEEKEND. && .AVIATION...FOR THE 06Z PACKAGE...LOW CLOUDS AND SHOWERS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN ARE EXPECTED WITH A FEW THUNDERSTORMS EVEN DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ON SUNDAY ALONG WITH A FEW MOSTLY AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS. AVIATION DISCUSSION NOT UPDATED FOR TAF AMENDMENTS. && .FIRE WEATHER...EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ON SUNDAY ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA AS LOW PRESSURE MOVES THROUGH THE STATE. AN ADDITIONAL WEATHER DISTURBANCE ON MONDAY WILL AUTHOR THE CONTINUATION OF SCATTERED SHOWERS. SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN ABOVE 7000 FEET. TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...A WEAK HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING GENERALLY DRY AND WARMER CONDITIONS ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. FOR THURSDAY...YET ANOTHER APPROACHING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL DELIVER WINDY CONDITIONS TO NORTHERN ARIZONA. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && PUBLIC...BOHLIN AVIATION...BOHLIN FIRE WEATHER...MCCOLLUM FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT WEATHER.GOV/FLAGSTAFF
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Ten inches of snow fell at Hart Prairie at an elevation of 8400 feet. Snow began to fall around 2 PM on April 30th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arizona in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, May 2016
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: 632422.