Arizona, 2023

Cold in Arizona, January 23 to 24, 2023

January 23 to 24, 2023 · NWS TWC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A series of cold nights occurred across southeast Arizona in mid to late January with low temperatures 15 to 25 degrees below normal. The Pima County Medical Examiner determined that hypothermia was the primary cause of death for two individuals in Patagonia.

Where it happened

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  • Floods
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  • Cold
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The toll

Deaths
2
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 TWC wrote it up.

A series of cold nights occurred across southeast Arizona in mid to late January with low temperatures 15 to 25 degrees below normal. The Pima County Medical Examiner determined that hypothermia was the primary cause of death for two individuals in Patagonia.

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, Upper Santa Cruz River and Altar Valleys

When
January 23, 12:00 AM MST to January 24, 11:00 AM MST
Where
Upper Santa Cruz River and Altar Valleys forecast zone
Deaths
2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
County Official
Coordinates
31.812, -111.318 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold low temperatures in the high single digits to teens, or 15 to 25 degrees below normal, occurred in Patagonia with the lowest temperature of 9 degrees recorded the morning of January 24. The Pima County Medical Examiner determined that hypothermia was the primary cause of death for two individuals in Patagonia. One individual lived in a mobile home that did not have sufficient heating was found there on the floor January 23. They were transported to a hospital but died there that day. A second individual was found deceased outside their home on January 24.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Cold/Wind Chill, Upper Santa Cruz River and Altar Valleys2023-01-2363FemaleMobile/Trailer HomeDirect
Cold/Wind Chill, Upper Santa Cruz River and Altar Valleys2023-01-2475FemaleOutside/Open AreasDirect

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

More

Every storm in Arizona in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, January 2023

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: 1143589.