December 4, 2019 - Snow in Arizona

Snow in Arizona

A strong storm system swept over Arizona in the closing days of November, 2019, bringing howling winds and dumping heavy snow across much of the state. After winding up over the Pacific Ocean and sweeping across Southern California, the storm hit Arizona hard. Three tornadoes sprung up in the Phoenix area on November 19 as the leading edge brought unsettled across the state, carrying winds gusts as high as 73 mph (117.5 km/h). The first tornado warning was sounded at 4:00 am local time as an EF1 travelled from Paradise Valley to Scottsdale, bring down trees and damaging roofs. Two other, smaller tornadoes also brought trees down in Maricopa County.

After the wind came the rain and snow—and plenty of it. Heavy rain triggered flood warnings in Phoenix, while rushing water in Tonto Creek, Gila County, swept three children away from a vehicle as it attempted to drive through the waters. Two of those children perished while the third was not found as of December 1. In many areas, especially higher elevations, rain gave way to heavy snow. According to the National Weather Service, Coconino County counted the highest accumulations, with Hart Prairie buried under 30 inches (76 cm) and Flagstaff airport reporting 16.8 inches (42.7 cm).

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of heavy snow draping over Arizona on November 30. The Colorado River snakes through the northern section of the image.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 11/30/2019
Resolutions: 1km (291.6 KB), 500m (812.1 KB), 250m (635.2 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC