The Juniper Fire started about 10 miles south of Young on May 20th in ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, and oak shrub. By the end of May, the fire burned about 7,800 acres.
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.
The Juniper Fire started about 10 miles south of Young on May 20th in ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, and oak shrub. By the end of May, the fire burned about 7,800 acres. The fire continued to burn into June and reached about 30,600 acres by June 14.
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 May 19, 9:50 PM MST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Flagstaff AZ 950 PM MST THU MAY 19 2016 .SYNOPSIS...Expect dry and cool conditions for the next several days. Gusty south to southwest winds will blow each afternoon. The fastest speeds to occur on Friday and Saturday afternoons when gusts to 50 mph are forecast. && .DISCUSSION...Isolated showers ended shortly after dark this evening. A very large area of low pressure over the Pacific Northewest is pushing high clouds over northwestern Arizona and NW Coconino County this evening. Have updated forecast to drop pops and increase cloud cover tonight. It still looks windy for much of northern Arizona on Friday...with the exception of Apache County. && .PREV DISCUSSION /315 PM MST/...The main story is strong afternoon winds Friday and Saturday, then wind speeds slowing (but not ending) from Sunday through next Tuesday. Aside from some isolated showers and tstorms this evening, dry weather is in store for several days. A wind advisory is in effect for portions of northern AZ Friday afternoon. We expect S-SW winds sustained at 25-35 mph with gusts from 40 to 50 mph through Friday evening for areas west of a Kayenta- Winslow-Forest Lakes line. S-SW winds to decrease in speeds Friday night, but some areas will continue to gust, including Doney Park and the Kaibab Plateau. Similar wind conditions are expected Saturday and should expand into Apache county. A Wind Advisory for Saturday will be considered by later shifts. The winds are due to another large and unseasonably cold trough entering the Great Basin now and forecast to stall there through the weekend. Winds speeds should decrease to below wind advisory criteria on Sunday. Max temps to be around 10 degrees below normal for the weekend. Monday through Thursday. Long range models show a continuous supply of troughs crossing Great Basin next week, meaning more windy days and below normal temperatures for northern AZ. && .AVIATION...For the 06Z package...Mainly VFR conditions over the next 24 hours. Light winds overnight but after sunrise Friday winds increse and becoming southwest 15-25 kts gusting to 45 kts...especially from the Mogollon Rim northward after 18Z. Aviation discussion not updated for TAF amendments. && .FIRE WEATHER...A low pressure system will dip across northern Nevada on Friday, with gusty southwest winds developing across northern Arizona. The low will linger over Nevada on Saturday with stronger southwest winds continuing. Look for below normal temperatures. Relative humidity values are expected to remain above critical fire weather levels. Sunday through Tuesday...Dry weather and below normal temperatures. Gusty south to southwest winds each afternoon across northern Arizona. && .FGZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...Wind Advisory from 11 AM to 7 PM MST Friday FOR AZZ004>009-012-013-015-016-040. && PUBLIC...MAS/41 AVIATION...MAS FIRE WEATHER...McCollum For Northern Arizona weather information visit weather.gov/flagstaff
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ 117 PM MST THU MAY 19 2016 AZZ004>018-037>040-200515- 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- 117 PM MST THU MAY 19 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR APACHE...COCONINO... NORTHERN GILA...NAVAJO...AND YAVAPAI COUNTIES IN NORTHERN ARIZONA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT EXPECT ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE HIGH TERRAIN THROUGH THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS SUSTAINED FROM 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS FROM 40 TO 50 MPH WILL AFFECT MUCH OF NORTHERN ARIZONA. ON FRIDAY, THE FASTEST SPEEDS WILL BE WEST OF A LINE FROM KAYENTA TO FOREST LAKES AND A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THIS AREA. SEE PHXNPWFGZ FOR DETAILS. ON SATURDAY, EXPECT SIMILAR WIND CONDITIONS ACROSS A MUCH OF THE AREA ALONG AND NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM. A SECOND WIND ADVISORY WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED FOR SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. 41
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The Juniper Fire started about 10 miles south of Young on May 20th in ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, and oak shrub. By the end of May, the fire burned about 7,800 acres.
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: 632633.