A major winter storm could create treacherous driving conditions across the Southwest Monday and early Tuesday.
The National Weather Service's preliminary forecast is warning people that elevations higher than 6,000 feet could get 1-2 feet of snow, and the snow level could drop to 5,000-5,500 feet. Downtown Prescott's elevation is 5,368 feet. As of Friday, the Weather Service was uncertain whether Prescott would get rain or snow.
Lower elevations in Yavapai County could get as much as two inches of rain.
The storm also could pack wind gusts as strong as 50 mph.
"This storm is certainly going to create hazardous driving conditions in northern Arizona, with possibly blizzard conditions for the high country," said Robert Bohlin, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Flagstaff.
The Arizona Department of Transportation announced Friday that it plans to keep its level of snowplowing on par with last winter, despite drastic budget cuts. ADOT is selling off several hundred vehicles and cutting back on other road maintenance efforts to shift money to snowplowing efforts.
"Residents across northern Arizona should begin preparations for this high-impact winter storm," warned the National Weather Service's Flagstaff office website. It urged people to monitor its forecasts at www.wrh.noaa.gov/fgz.
Preliminary Weather Service data forecasts the storm system moving into the Prescott area Sunday, with a 30 percent chance of showers Sunday night.
The forecast is calling for a 60 percent chance of precipitation Monday and an 80 percent chance Monday night, with rain turning to snow after 11 p.m. Chances of rain and snow greatly diminish Tuesday.
The storm should affect most of the Southwest and the southern Rockies, Bohlin said.
Chances for precipitation continue throughout the week, as the Weather Service expects another storm track to move into Arizona around Thursday.
The wet weather is something Prescott and the rest of Arizona desperately need as the region continues a decade-long drought.
Prescott hasn't seen significant precipitation since Sept. 6 monsoon rains fell. October's precipitation at the city's Sundog measuring site on the northeast side of town was 0.09 inches, or only 8 percent of the 111-year average. November registered the same 0.09 inches, or 7 percent of its long-term average. Only two months this year, February and May, had above-average precipitation.
The southerly shift of the next storm track is consistent with an El Niño influence, climatologists noted Thursday during an online Weather Service briefing about El Niño.
When the equatorial Pacific Ocean warms up more than usual, the Southwestern U.S. gets a higher chance of above-average winter precipitation. Right now it is shaping up to be a moderate El Niño winter, and it could even end up being a strong one, scientists said Thursday.
During El Niño influences, the southern half of Arizona is more likely to get extra precipitation in January through March, and then all of Arizona is more likely to get above-average precipitation in February through April, the webinar related.
El Niño also tends to warm up Arizona's winters.
The last strong El Niño affected Arizona in the winter of 1997-98.
Posted: Sunday, December 06, 2009
Article comment by:
how true
Back east, if it doesn't rain for two weeks they call it a drought. Here in AZ. if it doesn"t rain for a year or two we call it a dry spell .
Posted: Sunday, December 06, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
If it wasn’t for global warming, we’d all freeze to death.
Posted: Sunday, December 06, 2009
Article comment by:
LeftRightWrong
ForConciousness, Any and every article on this site is open to partisan babling. There could be an article about kittens and someone would talk about how republicans would kill the kitens and Obama would grant them the right to vote. People need to abandon parties and think for themselves.
Posted: Saturday, December 05, 2009
Article comment by:
ForConsciousness
It's amazing that a simple story about the weather can so quickly be turned into a chance for partisan screeds for some. The reality is that this type of storm used to be much more common in this part of Arizona, despite the "severe storm" label. Ongoing trends of decreasing precipitation and increasing temperatures in our part of the world will mean drastic changes for everyone, regardless of political bias.
Posted: Saturday, December 05, 2009
Article comment by:
BW
I just checked the National Weather Service website www.noaa.nws.gov and the forcast and the three day history are spot on, where are you getting your info BozosforClimategate.crap?
Posted: Saturday, December 05, 2009
Article comment by:
Ain't it so?
This has GOT to be Obama's fault. He's getting blamed for everything else.
Posted: Saturday, December 05, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Whooo hooo let it snow, let it snow! It is about time we get some moisture. Just look at the lakes and you can see what type of drought were in! It can rain too!
Posted: Saturday, December 05, 2009
Article comment by:
yeah, right...
How many times have we heard this before only to get a little wind and drizzle?? I'll believe it when I see it...yawn.
Posted: Saturday, December 05, 2009
Article comment by:
Jeff
Today was supposed to be sunny and 53 degrees! The weather service needs to ditch the fancy computers and go back to good ole' weather forcasting. They don't know what Prescott will get? WOW!
Posted: Saturday, December 05, 2009
Article comment by:
timmeah
Can someone take this article to The City of Prescott Public Works folks? Generally, they wait until the storm has passed and THEN wander the streets aimlessly piling snow in all the wrong locations. Perhaps with a lil in your face warning, they may be able to better the efforts and actually allow the city streets to carry traffic.
Posted: Saturday, December 05, 2009
Article comment by:
Greg Sober
Damned global warming. What could have caused the Warming Alarmists to be so far off track?
