Arizona, 2018

Heavy Snow and High Wind in Arizona, March 17 to 18, 2018

March 17 to 18, 2018 · NWS FGZ · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A cold front brought heavy snow to far northern Arizona and strong winds to far eastern Arizona.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

A cold front brought heavy snow to far northern Arizona and strong winds to far eastern Arizona.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy snow, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Kaibab Plateau

When
March 17, 7:40 PM MST to March 18, 4:10 AM MST
Where
Kaibab Plateau forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
35.839, -111.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Five inches of new snow fell overnight in Fredonia at around 4700 feet elevation. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon at 8,000 feet elevation only received 4.8 inches of snow.

High Wind, Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateau

When
March 18, 8:43 AM MST
Where
Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateau forecast zone
Measured
53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
35.396, -109.489 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An ADOT wind sensor in Lupton (along I-40) recorded a peak wind gust of 61 MPH at 843 AM MST.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, March 2018

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 742059, 742063.